Almost DGrayMan
by BloodCoveredKisses
Summary: Dallas, Ashley, and Raikou are new exorcists who have come to the order. They come from different places, and have different pasts, but one thing that binds them is their hate for akuma. What starts out as an obligation to save humans will soon change into something much, much bigger. Read and Review please! No flames. Written by three best friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Welcome to the first chapter of Almost DGrayMan! I'm writing this story with my friends Lisa and Ashley. So, yeah. We hope you like it, if you don't , oh well. But please R & R if you feel the need to. Plus, we want to know how we write. :D enjoy! Please tell us if there are any errors. Thanks.

**DISCLAIMER:** neither of us own DGrayMan, but we wish we owned Allen, Lavi, and Kanda. ;D

This chapter is in memory of Madison B. I love you and miss you.

* * *

Chapter 1

_~Dallas~_

As I sat at the kitchen table, I stretched out my arms before me and yawned, looking at the bracelets around my wrists. They were exactly the same; black with a white vine design that wrapped around the bracelet then grew to a rose. I stared at them, remembering that day. Remembering the day I got the bracelets.

_"Happy tenth birthday!" Madison, my sister, said in delight. I grabbed the small box in her outstretched hands and shook it a bit with a quizzical expression on my face. "Just open it already!" she said in impatience. I laughed and ripped the brown paper off, then opened the box and my mouth dropped in awe. Inside were the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I had ever seen. Two matching bracelets. One for each hand. I ran to my sister and hugged her tightly._

_"Thank you, Sissy. I love them! I'll wear them forever!" I said. "You'd better take good care of those, Dallas. Okay?" She whispered into my hair and I nodded. After eating some cake and chatting a bit, we realized that it was nine-thirty in the evening. Our parents were about to see me and my sister off to bed when there was a knock at the door. My sister went to get it quickly, the rest of us staring at the door in confusion. After all, who would've been knocking on doors this late in the night? Madison opened the door and we all looked to see a little old lady holding a basket filled with roses._

_"Hello there young lady." She said in a shaking, fragile voice. "I heard it was the youngest child's birthday. Would you like to buy some flowers for the dear?" My sister looked at mom and dad who shook their heads no, then turned to the old woman again. "No thank you, ma'am. We won't be buying any flowers tonight." Just before my sister closed the door, the old woman dropped the basket, the red roses falling to the ground._

_"A-are you okay...?" My sister said, for the woman was now shaking. Soon, the shaking turned to convulsions, her body jerking in all directions. We gathered around the door to see if there was anything we could do. Then, with a sickening ripping noise, a large, round shaped machine ripped through the skin of the lady, and turned slowly to face us. We all gasped in horror as it pointed its several guns at my sister. It then smiled wickedly as it shot purple bullets in her direction. My father ran, pulling me and my mother under the table._

_"SISSY!" I screamed. The machine was done shooting, and as the dust cleared away I saw her body. She was laying motionless on the floor. "NO!" we all screamed at once. My mother went to my sister's body first, leaning over her and sobbing. "NO! No, no, no, not my baby! NO!" she screamed, then I let out another scream as the machine shot her with the bullets, too. "MOM!" I screamed._

_"YVETTE!" My dad screamed my mother's name in pure agony. He ran to where she and Madison lay, sobbing over them both. I crawled from under the table slowly and knelt over their bodies, nudging their sides. "Mom...? Sissy...?" I whispered brokenly. I watched as black stars started forming on they're bodies, until all of their skin was black. "NO!" I screamed, as their bodies turned to dust. Me and my father cried. A sickeningly sweet odor filled the house, and I coughed through my sobs. I turned to where the monster was, but It was gone._

_I ran outside at once. "NO! COME BACK HERE! COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD! YOU CAN'T TAKE MY BEST FRIEND AND MY MOTHER AND GET AWAY WITH IT! BRING THEM BACK! BRING THEM BACK!" I screamed at the dark sky._

That was the day I swore to myself that I would try my hardest for my father's sake. I also swore to myself that I would never take off my bracelets. And I haven't. It's been a while since that day. Now I was fourteen, and I wasn't the helpless child I was before. I felt like I could actually do something now. Though I didn't know exactly what.

I felt tears streaming down my face, and kept them there. I just sat at the table for a moment longer, then sighed as I realized that I needed to get out of the house. I stood up and stretched some more, then went into my room to open the closet doors. I picked out a dark purple dress with a v-neck and short sleeves. My father was at work, and we didn't have enough money to put me through school so I did whatever I wanted throughout the day. After slipping on the dress I went into the bathroom to examine my face.

My eyes were the slightest bit puffy, for I was just crying. But everything looked okay besides that. I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face, then got out my brush and ran it through my short, dark brown hair, situating my bangs to where they swooped in front of my right eye. There. Just the way I liked it. After doing that I looked at my reflection more closely. I had unique eyes; they were greenish brown with a small hint of blue around the edges. I also had pale skin, though not ghastly pale, and naturally rosy cheeks. I also had pink lips, the lower lip being slightly bigger than the top. After looking at my appearance I sighed and walked into the kitchen again.

I slipped on my black flats and glanced at the clock. It was twelve forty-five, so it was a good time to go grocery shopping. I grabbed my bag and walked out the front door, smiling at the neighbors I walked past and waving. I turned down the street that led to the market and was surprised to see that it was almost completely empty. Usually this street was full, but today only one person besides myself was there. He looked about my age. He had black, shaggy hair and wore some baggy clothes. He was leaning against a building. I walked closer to him, and as I was about to pass, he spoke. "Hey." He said casually. I looked down to my hands and noticed that the white parts of my bracelets were giving off a faint glow, which disturbed me. They had never done that before.

"Uhm...hello." I said. "What's your name?" he asked. This was odd. I knew just about everyone in the village. So how come I didn't know this person? Something told me that I should leave, so, following that instinct, I turned the slightest away from him. "I'm sorry, but I actually have to, er, go now. So...bye." I turned to walk away but was stopped because his hand was holding onto the back of my dress. "Excuse me, but-"

I was cut off as he turned me to face him roughly, and he pushed me against a wall to another building. I was frozen in shock. Then I gasped in horror as his body collapsed into convulsions, then a monster came out of his skin. "No." I murmured, eyes wide. The..._thing_ had a large head, much like a baby dolls except exceedingly more ugly. Then it's body was considerably smaller. It lifted me by my collar, leaving me to claw and scratch at it's hands, struggling for breath. "Where is the innocence?" It asked in a scratchy, high-pitched voice. I couldn't speak, I couldn't breathe. Just as I feared I might die from lack of oxygen, the creature screamed and dropped me to the ground.

I saw a boy in the distance as I was lying on the ground. He was pointing some sort of gun at the creature. Wait, no. The gun was his left arm. The boy must've been either my age or a little older, but his hair was strikingly white. I wondered why that was... He also had a peculiar red scar around his left eye. And his eyes...they were a light blueish gray. He was wearing some sort of black uniform with an elaborate white cross over his heart. He wore a cloak with it too...This boy was absolutely beautiful...

"That's no way you should be handling a lady." He said, his voice dark. Then his arm transformed into a giant claw, and he sliced the creature into three halves from which it exploded. "Bring forth salvation to this tortured akuma's soul." He muttered, then turned to me. His arm then turned back to a somewhat normal form; the shape was right, but the color was all wrong. His left arm was black. He slipped on a glove before walking over to where I lay on the ground. "Hi." He said, extending his arm to help me up and smiling.

I looked at his outstretched hand for a moment and hesitated. The white parts of my bracelets were glowing more brightly than before, shining and pulsing in the dim light of the afternoon. I quickly took his hand and pulled myself up. As soon as I got up though, I suddenly became light-headed and dizzy, almost falling to the ground. But I never did. The boy caught me, and I blushed. I turned out of his arms to face him and brushed a strand of hair out of my face before hiding my hands behind my back. "Thank you for saving me, uh..." I trailed off, not even knowing my savior's name. "Allen." He put in. "My name is Allen Walker. And you are...?"

"I'm Dallas..." I said shyly. "It's nice to meet you, Dallas." He said, and I nearly melted at his soft, crooked smile.

* * *

"So that creature was...an akuma?" I asked Allen. We were at a restaurant near my house. He insisted he tell me about what happened. "Yes." he answered simply. "And you... you're an...exorcist?"

"Yes." Suddenly his expression became determined. "It's my job as an exorcist to rid akumas of their torturous sins." I was shocked by his sudden mood change. Then I looked down at my bracelets. They were still glowing. I hid them under the table and Allen noticed, giving me a confused look, his head titled to one side. He was so completely adorable...

"Dallas?" He asked cautiously. I had been staring at him. Crap. I pulled my gaze away from his and stared at the wooden table, blushing. "Yes?" I asked quietly. "Do your bracelets always do that?" I widened my eyes at the table. Could I tell him? What would he do? "No...they don't usually glow like this. They did when the akuma attacked me too, but they didn't shine this brightly until you came..." I trailed off, suddenly embarrassed. I looked up at him, the blush on my cheeks fading a little.

"I'm thinking you might have innocence in those bracelets." He said, smiling slightly. "_Innocence_?" I asked. That's what the akuma had mentioned. "Innocence is the material used in anti-akuma weapons that makes it able to actually kill akuma." He said. "Wait," I said. "Why would...why would I have this...innocence?" He looked into my eyes and smiled. "Dallas, God chooses those he deems worthy to hold innocence in either a weapon or in their body, like me. If in your bracelets you do in fact have innocence, that means that God has chosen you as an apostle." I stared at him in shock, my mouth slightly open.

His smile got wider and we stayed like that for a few moments until he turned his head abruptly towards the window we were sitting by. "What is it, Allen?" I asked. "I sense an akuma..." He said. "What...?" "I can sense akuma from miles away and see their souls with my left eye." He said quietly. I didn't reply, I just stared at his beautiful face. Suddenly, we heard a blood-curdling scream from the street.

Allen instantly got up, and I followed him out the door. We ran to the street and looked up at the sky. There were five akuma floating above the throng of people, and I heard Allen whisper, "Innocence activate." I looked at his left arm as it transformed into his anti-akuma weapon. My eyes widened as he jumped up and sliced one of the akuma in two before it exploded. "Dallas!" he yelled my name. I turned toward him.

"Try to activate your innocence." he said. "I think your wrong about me...I couldn't be chosen by God..." I said, tears flooding my eyes as I remembered the night everything happened again when I stared at the akuma. Allen came over to me and gave me a look of concern, then gave me a reassuring smile. "Dallas...it's okay. Trust me. You'll be fine. Just say 'Innocence activate'." I looked down at my feet.

_'He doesn't know anything. He doesn't know what I've been through. But didn't I promise myself that Mother and Madison's deaths wouldn't be in vain?' _I thought. I looked back up at Allen with a new determination in my eyes. "Okay." I said, and he watched as I stepped away and looked at my bracelets. "Innocence...activate...?" I said, quietly, uncertainly. Nothing happened. I could feel Allen's gaze on me, it made me uncomfortable. Something should have been happening now, right?

I closed my eyes tightly and squeezed my hands in a tight fist. I then felt tears crawl out of the corner of my eyes, and roll down my cheeks slowly as I took a deep breath. "Innocence, ACTIVATE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, and felt a sudden warmth in my hands. I opened my eyes and looked down at my wrists. The white vine on the bracelets were creeping up my hand, twirling around it, extending. I gasped in shock as I found my hands covered by black fingerless gloves, the white vine design had twirled around my hand like a snake, and the roses rested on the palms of my hands. I turned to look at Allen who smiled at me reassuringly.

I felt a sudden urge to...what was it...? Kill? No, it couldn't be that...but it was. I felt more...what was the word? Powerful. I felt powerful. I looked at Allen. "What do I do now?" I asked. "Approach an akuma. See what happens when it tries to attack." He said. Then he watched as I approached a nearer akuma. It looked exactly like the one who killed my sister and my mom. Sudden rage filled me. I let out a scream of anger and jumped to its level, punching with all my might, tears pouring from my face.

I didn't even need to punch as hard as I did, the akuma blew up the second my hand made hard contact with it. I went to the next one and punched it just as hard. This was a great way to get out anger. I went to the last one left jumped up, and realized that me and Allen hit it at the same time. I landed on my feet then sank to my knees, putting my hands to my face. I felt another wave of comfortable heat as my innocence deactivated, turning the fingerless gloves back into my bracelets. I was crying into my hands, and I heard Allen approach me. He leaned down in front of me and pried my hands away from my face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern plain in his voice. I looked up and nodded miserably. "I-I-I'm fine...better than fine...That felt so good." I said, my voice shaking. I didn't want to tell Allen about my past just yet; I decided that that would have to wait until later. He took my hand and helped me up, then placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Dallas," He said, "I need to take you to the Order now." He said.

* * *

I had a long talk with my dad, who decided to let me go after I convinced him to. I said I would write frequently, and I would. So we arrived at this "Black Order" as Allen called it. This place was basically an exorcist HQ, where we lived and worked. This was my new "family". It was a large, black castle, that was so tall the top part could barely be seen by the night clouds. The only way in I could find was a large cliff. I stared at it, eyebrows raised and mouth hanging open. "Do we actually have to _climb_ that?" I asked incredulously. Allen laughed, and I looked at him.

"No. I actually did on my first day..." He said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He was so cute when he was embarrassed! I realized I was looking at him longer than I should and averted my gaze toward my feet, shifting my suitcase to the other hand. "So, how do we actually get to that building?" I asked. "There's an elevator." He said.

After taking the elevator, we made it to the gatekeeper who did a scan on me and said that I wasn't an akuma. _'No shit.' _I thought in annoyance as we waked through into the building. Allen was greeted by many people I didn't know, and some people stared at me like I was an alien. I almost wanted to scream, "What are you looking at!" But I didn't, because I was mature...sort of. Allen led me to one very, extremely messy room, whom he called Komui's. Whoever this Komui was really needed to clean up his office.

Then, a slim man wearing a white lab coat and a white beret that covered black hair showed up, smiling. "I would assume you're Dallas?" He asked me. I stared at him in shock. How did he know me? "I'm think I'm right." He looked at Allen who nodded. "Dallas, this is Komui." Allen said. "I called him to tell him that I found another accomodator."

"Oh. Uhm, Hi." I said, giving Komui a smile. He then took a deep breath. "Dallas, I'll have you come with me now." He said. I followed him out of his office, giving Allen a goodbye glance. "I'll see you around." He said, smiling the cutest smile ever, his eyes closing. I smiled then followed Komui up many stairs, then onto a platform. It was literally suspending in mid-air. Komui pushed a button which sent us flying upwards, then into a large, empty room. Komui smiled at me. "Dallas, we're going to test your innocence." He said. Who was 'we'?

I gasped as I saw a giant white...creature appear. I assumed it was a she by the shape of her lips. She looked like a centipede of some sort, glowing and white. Though I had feeling that she wasn't. "This is Hevlaska." Komui said.

"Come here, child." Hevlaska said, her voice a smooth wisp. I was terrified, my feet rooted to the spot in which I was standing. I didn't move. I just stood there, wide-eyed as Hevlaska extended many (what were they...arms?) to hold me. I sat there in her arms as she talked to me. "I'm going to test your Innocence, Dallas." She said, then pressed her lips against my wrists, which she was holding up. She started counting.

"10%, 25%, 38%, 42%, 51%" then she stopped. "You have synchronized with your Innocence up to 51%. That's exceedingly well for someone who has only used their innocence once." I blushed a bit at the praise and didn't feel scared anymore as Hevlaska gently placed me back down onto the floating platform. I looked up at her. "Hevlaska...if you don't mind me asking...what are you?" I felt terribly rude after I said it, but I didn't know how else to phrase the question.

To my surprise, she wasn't offended. "I am an exorcist." She said simply. "Really?" I asked. "Yes." After that, Komui briefly told me it was time to go and pushed a button on the platform. We then went out large double doors. I saw someone waiting there. Actually, two somebodies. A girl who looked my age, with pale skin and blue eyes. She had longish blond hair, and was barefoot to my surprise. She was clearly not Indian, but she was wearing a beautiful red and gold sari. I idly wondered who she was when my attention was brought to the person who had been standing next to her.

He was wearing a similar outfit to Allen's, though he wasn't wearing a cloak. His hair was long and black, it was tied up into a ponytail. His skin was pale, and his eyes were dark. He was walking away. He must've been an exorcist by the look of the sword hanging around his back, and the uniform he was wearing. _'I hope I get to know him...' _I thought.

Komui turned to me. "Dallas, this is Ashley." He gestured to the girl in the sari. I gave a small wave and smiled briefly while she smiled. "Ashley is also a new exorcist. You two should go get dinner together, but first she needs to get her Innocence checked by Hevlaska. Just wait here for a few moments." He said

"Okay." I replied as they walked through the large double doors I had just walked out of a while ago. I then leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest and letting my bangs cover my eyes, and waited.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_~Ashley~_

I quickly made my way through the crowded street of New Delhi, India. My red and gold sari was cool and comfortable in the blistering heat that was India. My sari swayed swiftly around my bare feet as I rushed past the many shops, restaurants, and houses that made up New Delhi 's marketplace. I was being followed. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw a blur of color.

'_Damn it, I still haven't lost it!'_ I thought to myself. I had no idea what exactly was chasing me, but I did know that it was the same creature that had killed my parents and many of my friends. Why did they have to find me now, right when I was just beginning to enjoy India? Now I was going to have to leave in order to hide from these creatures that have always, throughout my whole life, chased me.

I glanced back behind me to see where the creatures were, and before I knew it felt my body collide into another. When I looked up into the face of the person that I bumped into, I was mesmerized by his piercing dark blue, almost black eyes, and his beautiful long black hair that was tied up into a ponytail. He wore a strange black outfit that billowed out all around him and had an elaborately decorated white cross embroidered over his heart. He had a beautiful face too, and I would have bet anything that it was even more beautiful when he'd smile and was not glaring coldly at you, like he was at me.

What was I doing? I didn't have time to stare at some stranger. I had to get out of there before those creatures killed me. And before I could apologize to the man for bumping into him I ran off, but it was just my luck that I slipped on a banana peal that had been randomly thrown into the street, and fell right on top of this beautiful stranger! I was so shocked, stunned, and embarrassed that I couldn't move. I just laid there with my face resting gently on his chest.

"What the hell? Get off me!" his said, his voice and eyes were filled with anger as he roughly pushed me off of him and stood up. With my face burning bright red, I quickly got to my feet.

"I'm soooo sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and slipped on a banana peel. I'm really very sorry." I must have sounded like an idiot, for who else but me would slip on a banana peel? I was so uncoordinated.

"Humph," was all that he said as he glared at me and then turned around and walked silently away. I stayed rooted in my spot, unable to move. All I could do was stare at the man I had just bumped into until he disappeared into the crowd of people.

_Ka-Chug_, I felt cold metal press against the back of my head. I turned around and let out an ear piercing scream. The creature had finally found me. It had many gun-like cylinders protruding out from all over its body, and on its emotionless white and gaunt baby doll face was a pentacle. I scream again as tears of fear flowed down my face._ 'I don't want to die!'_ I thought.

It began to fire deadly bullets at me, but I was to fast for it and was able to dodge all of them. It was then that I began to feel something hot burning the skin underneath my sari. I quickly pulled out my dagger. It was glowing and was hot to the touch, so hot that I dropped it. As it fell to the ground it changed right before my eyes into a five-foot long sword.

I looked back up at the creature and to my surprise I see the very man I had bumped into standing on top of the building directly above the creature with his sword drawn and ready to attack.

The creature began to fire more bullets drawing my attention back to the ground. As I moved to dodge the bullets I grab my dagger/sword and was just about to make a run for it, but when I touched the sword a strange sensation came over me. I felt like I had to kill this creature, and as I felt the rage surge through my body I suddenly knew what I had to do. I turned around to face the creature just as the man jumped off the building to slay it, but before his blades ever touched it I ruthlessly cut it in half. The man landed harmlessly on the ground as the creature exploded into dust and then vanished into thin air.

I was so stunned by the brutality of my attack and just the whole scenario in general that I did not notice that there was another creature floating directly behind me. The man swiftly ran toward it and in a blink of the eye sliced right through it. This creature too exploded into dust before vanishing. I couldn't believe that this man saved me after acting so coldly to me.

He roughly grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward a dark secluded alleyway. He then pushed me against the brick wall, and towering over me, he placed each hand on the wall on either side my face, so that I could not run away. His beautiful face was only inches from mine and I could feel his hot breath fanning over my face.

"Who are you?" he asked me.

"I'm Ashley, Ashley Black," I know I probably shouldn't have told him anything but having him so close made me nervous.

"What just happened back there? How did you manage to kill that akuma?" he asked sternly.

"A-akuma, what's an Akuma?"

"An Akuma is the creature you just killed. Now tell me how you killed it!"

"Hold up a second I'm not going to tell you anything until you tell me who you are," I said defiantly.

"Kanda," he said flatly.

"Thank you. I honestly don't know what happened. My dagger magically changed into a sword and when I touched it I had a sudden impulse to… to…"

"To kill?" he said as he raised his eyebrows.

"Maybe…..Yes" I finally said with downcast eyes. Kanda let out a frustrated sigh before mumbling "This is just what I need, a new accommodator to make things even more difficult." Kanda backs away from me before asking, "Have you ever heard of innocence before?"

"No"

"Why doesn't that surprise me? Innocence is what exorcists use to make anti-akuma weapons, weapons that we use to kill akuma. Let me see your dagger."

"Okay?" I said as I hesitantly pulled out my still glowing but no longer in sword form dagger and reluctantly handed it over to Kanda. He took it from me.

"Shit!" he winced in pain as he dropped my dagger. It must have burned him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized as I picked up my dagger.

"Your dagger," Kanda continued, "is an anti akuma weapon. I'm going to have to take you to the order." He sounded almost like he was annoyed, like I was only a burden slowing him down.

"The Order?" I asked confused.

"Come with me," he said ignoring my question.

"What? Wait, where are we going?"

"Shut up! I'll tell you on the way," he then turned around and walked off. I hesitated before following him.

* * *

We walked onto the train, "What about tickets?"

"Never mind that," replied Kanda, and he was right. All the conductor had to do was take one look at the cross on Kanda's outfit and we were given first class cabins. I was so excited, for I had never traveled first class in my whole life.

Kanda and I sat opposite of each other. He never said a word; all he did was glare at me with that piercing gaze of his with his arms folded over his chest.

Once the train began to move I was finally able to gather up enough courage to ask, "What is the Order?" He didn't answer. No, instead he rudely looked away from me and out the window.

"Hey, you said you would tell me on the way, and guess what? We're on the way to the Order!" Still no answer, it was like I didn't exist.

I stood up and moved toward him. He still didn't look at me. At this point I had no other choice but to tug his beautiful long black hair. _Tug, tug._

"What the fuck are you doing!" he said angrily. His gaze was as cold as ice and it sent shivers down my spine.

"Answer my question!" He looked at me for a second with a stunned expression on his face before turning to look back out the window. "Fine," I yelled as I sat back down. I was really beginning to hate this guy.

* * *

It took forever to get to the Order which apparently was in England . That meant I was trapped in a train with the silent, grouchy, stupid Kanda for a week, and the only information I got out of him was that the Order is actually called the Black Order and that it is the head quarters for the exorcists. Why did he have to be so vague? It was so annoying! He did, when we were about halfway to England , call a guy named, what was it? Kamaoi? Komoi? Komui? I think it was Komui, and told him about me. But those were the only times that he talked. He was silent the rest of the trip. I did try to tug on his hair again to see if he would talk to me, but all that did was make him angry. He actually threatened that if I tugged on his hair again on this train that he would kill me. So I didn't dare to try that again.

* * *

The Black Order was basically a huge black castle located on the top of a cliff. It was so cool; I loved castles and this one was absolutely breathtaking. My only worry was how we were going to get to the castle; for it was so high that the top of it touched the clouds, and I did not see any other way to get inside it.

"Kanda, we aren't actually going to have to climb that cliff? Are we?" I asked wide eyed. It's not like I didn't like heights because I loved to climb on top of things, and sit in high up places, it was just the falling to my death part that scared me.

Kanda smirked, "No, only and idiot would try to do that. There's an elevator that will take us up to the Black Order."

Once we stepped out of the elevator, this giant head-like door thing, called the gatekeeper, had to scan me to see if I was an akuma before I was able to actually enter the Black Order. When we entered the Black Order I was greeted with stares of curiosity. It was so nerve wracking to have so many pairs of eyes on me all at once. No one looked at Kanda; in fact it was almost like they were trying to avoid him.

Kanda first took me to a room that had papers lying all over the place. It looked like a hurricane had torn through it. As soon as Kanda saw that no one was in the room he quickly walked out and I followed him. We walked through many different hallways and passed hundreds of doors before he found what he was looking for. Standing at the end of the hallway was a man wearing a white lab coat and a white beret that covered his black hair. He also wore a pair of silver rimmed glasses. He was talking to a girl who looked like she was my age. She had shoulder-length dark brown hair and brown-green eyes. She was wearing a purple dress and black ballet flats.

As soon as we reached the two people Kanda walked off and left me with these two strangers, so much for saying goodbye.

"Hello, you must be Ashley." The man said with a smile, "I'm Komui." Komui then turned to the girl, " Dallas , this is Ashley," Dallas waved at me and smiled. I smiled back at her. "Ashley is also a new exorcist. You two should go get dinner together, but first she needs to get her innocence checked by Hevlaska. Just wait here for a few moments."

"Okay," replied Dallas as I followed Komui through two large double doors._ 'Hevlaska? Who the heck is Hevlaska?'_ I thought.

I followed Komui onto what looked like an upside down pyramid that was floating on mid air. He then pushed a button that sent the platform moving up. As soon as the platform stopped moving a huge, glowing, white, almost centipede looking creature appeared. I assumed that this was Hevlaska.

"Ashley," began Komui, "take out your innocence. Hevlaska is going to test it." I did as he told me and took out my dagger.

Hevlaska then leaned down and in a haunting wispy voice said, "I am going to test your innocence." She then touched her lips to my dagger and began to count, "10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%," she stopped counting, "your synchronization rate with your innocence is 45%."

"That's interesting," Komui said as he pushed a different button that sent us moving downwards, "Ashley how many times have you activated your innocence?"

"Umm….never I don't even know how to. My innocence activated on its own when Kanda found me."

"Hmmm…this is very interesting. Two exorcists in one day, that both have unusual synchronization rates. Ashley, all you have to do to activate your innocence is say, 'innocence activate'. Did Kanda not tell you that?"

"No, he didn't say anything. What's with that guy anyway?"

"Kanda's just Kanda, he's always like that. You'll get used to it eventually." The platform stopped moving, "You can go ahead and go to dinner with Dallas ."

"Okay," I said before I walked back out the double doors and met up with Dallas.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_~Raikou~_

I pushed open the door of a bakery with my shoulder, a sack of flour was in my arms. Warm air greeted me as I walked outside. Everything seemed pleasant and easygoing. Children ran past me, smiles on their faces, couples stood close holding hands, and all the plants were in bloom. My house wasn't too far away from the market. I had to hurry back or my father would start to worry. He'd been stressed lately. My mother was sent to the hospital only a few days ago. This wasn't the first time. She was always weak, and there would be times she could not get out of bed. I took my time going down the streets watching the carriages pass,and admiring the spring view. I stopped at my house. Walking up the front porch's steps, I sat the flour down. I took out a key from my pocket inserting it into the lock. The door had already been unlocked. I looked over to the window with a sign that hung from the inside. Painted on the sign was "Closed" in red letters. My father was a jeweler, and our house doubled as a shop. It was the only jewelry shop in our small town so we always keep the doors closed any time y father decided to take off. I hesitated at first, but turned the knob and slipped inside taking the flour with me. I was at the front of the store. I gasped in horror dropping the flour that spilled onto the floor. We'd been robbed! The display counter was smashed, our phone dangled from its cord. I walked over to the counter. Surprisingly all the pieces were still there, except one. There was one necklace that my father refused to sell. It had a beautiful green stone that no one could identify. It was his pride and joy. I heard a loud crash from the upstairs. Then part of the ceiling fell to the ground, a figure falling with it and landing with a thump. I let out a scream falling backwards. I saw another shadow dart through the cloud of dust.

"Hammer of Fire!" I heard a voice yell.

"E-exorcists" a small shaky cry let out. The dust had finely cleared. I didn't want to accept what I was seeing. My father was lying in the wreckage. He turned his face to me " Raikou...," he whispered. His face looked strange. There was a large black star covering his forehead and dark shadows surrounded his eyes.

"Father..?" I said.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but a fire erupted around him. His flesh instantly caught aflame. I looked away feeling disgusted, bile threatening to come up. I was too shocked to cry. My attention was brought to a man dressed in a long black coat carrying an enormous hammer. He had long, spiked, crimson hair that fell over a headband with green scale decorations. He had a patch on his right eye. In the hand the wasn't carrying the hammer, which had somehow shrunk to fit the palm of his hand,was my father's beloved necklace. I crawled to the door in fear. Getting up, I stumbled falling on my face.

"Oh?what do we have here?" I heard the man say. I could feel myself tearing up. I wanted to curl up in a fetal position.

"MURDERER" I cried, "You killed my father..," I trailed off.

" I think you're misunderstanding something," he replied pointing to where my father's body lay. The fire had disappeared . " I never killed him. He was already dead," In his place was some kind of machine that resembled a skeleton , the same black star marking it's head.

"W-where's my father then..?and what is that?!" I screamed, tears flowing down my face.

"That would be an akuma, and your father is already in heaven" he said gravely. He walked towards me. He put out a hand as if to help. I slapped it away. "Get away from me, murderer!," I shouted, I didn't even convince myself. He grabbed my arm this time, pulling me up and into his arms. I cried until there were no tears left.

He looked over to the akuma, "Do you want to come with me and rid the world of these so less lose the people who are important to them?" I thought of my mother who was in the hospital.

"I can't..," I looked at the floor.

"That's a shame, I didn't want to let go of a cute girl like you," he winked. "If you change your mind,,I'll be waiting at the city gates at midnight".

My cheeks became flustered. I hit him in the chest.

"Don't count on it !" I said heatedly, storming out the door. I could hear a snicker as I left. As soon as I was outside, I felt the tears coming back. I ran, the scenery blurring. It was as if the nice weather was mocking me. When I stopped gasping for breath, I found myself in front of the hospital. I walked in, going to the receptionist. Surprisingly, he looked fairly young and had an air of royalty. He had long brown hair that hung in front of his red eyes. I swear I heard him whispering the name Yuki to himself. "Um..I was wondering," I muttered "In which room is my mother?" I ask him.

"What is her name?" he asks. I tell him my mother's name and wait for a room number.

"The person in this room passed away this morning. I'm sorry for your loss," he said in a polite manner. I bit the edge of my lip, fighting back tears. I thought back to the phone. My father must have gotten the call. I went outside and slumped down on a bench. Looking at a puddle, my reflection was looking back at me. I had messy pink hair that came down to my shoulders, and bangs that hovered above hazel eyes that were now puffy and red. I kicked the water making the picture distort. I curled up on the bench and fell asleep .

When I awoke, it was already dark. I remembered the proposition the red headed boy had given me. The gate wasn't too far away. I had nothing to lose anymore. I got up, hopped off the bench, and made my way to the end of town. I could hear the clock tower chime as the hand struck twelve as I reached the gates.

"I knew you would come," I heard someone say from behind me. I turned around, something about him pissed me off. "By the way, I'm Lavi. Pleased ta meet you," he said getting uncomfortably close. I backed away.

"I'm Raikou." I said " How are we going to get over the gate? It's closed this late at night". He smiled his same crooked smile

"I can take care of that." He took out his hammer and took a hold of me. Before I could shout in protest, he shouted "Grow grow grow!" The hammer's handle length doubled, then tripled. It kept growing until it pushed us off the ground and safely over the wall. We now stood on the other side of the gate. I wanted to thank him, but then I noticed something shiny hanging out of his pocket. It was that necklace. I could feel my face turning red.

"Crook!You stole that necklace!" I accused .He sighed, shaking his head. He took the stone out of it's socket and handed the golden chain to me. I took it confused. He took out his hammer .

"This stone and this hammer are both innocence. They're used to cleanse the souls of akuma," he explained simply. " It was only a coincidence that your father happened to turn into akuma," he slipped the stone back into his pocket. "Take the chain, I don't need it." I put the necklace on. I rubbed my eyes I was still tired. Lavi made his hammer extend and he knelt. His back was facing me. "Here, you get on, so you don't fall off while we're traveling," he offered. I didn't reject. I put my arms around his neck. It wasn't long before I was fast asleep. When I awoke, I was in a small room in a bed. I looked out the window. All I saw were clouds. I felt faint. I looked to the door. I opened it to a huge hallway with other similar doors. I saw a few other people walking through. I spotted Lavi coming towards me. " Raikou!" he said waving with a smile. "You slept a whole day. It's already eight ," he laughed. He looked me up and down.

"What!?" I asked.

"It looks good on you," he smiled. I looked down to see that I was in a long tan raincoat coming to my knees. It had zippers on the chest, and on the sleeves that were to long for me. I didn't even want to know how that had happened.

"You must be hungry. Lets go get something to eat,"he said with a smile.

"Yeah..," my stomach grumbled.

We entered the Cafeteria. I ordered and sat down. I saw four other people enter: a boy with white hair, a girl with dark brown hair and purple dress, another girl with a gold and red sari, and a man with black hair that was tied up with a similar coat to Lavi's .


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_~Dallas~_

As me and Ashley walked down a hallway, I realized that we had no idea where we were going. "Uh...do you...?" I asked. "Nope." Ashley said, and we laughed a little. I looked around then gave a sigh of relief when I saw Allen. He had just come out of a door I didn't pay attention to and was walking ahead of us. "Allen!" I called out his name. He turned around and gave me a smile, which made me blush the slightest. He stopped and waited for me and Ashley to reach him.

"Hey, Dallas." He said, falling in step beside me. I smiled at him before turning to Ashley. "This is Allen, he brought me to the order..." I said, trailing off. She smiled at me, then at Allen. "Hi. I'm Ashley, I'm a new exorcist too." Allen smiled and nodded at her. "Oh! I almost forgot why I stopped you, Allen." I said, blushing. Had I seriously lost my train of thought just by talking to him? "Do you know where the cafeteria is?" Allen laughed at some joke we weren't in on. "Yeah, I know where it is. It's not too far from here; I'll show you."

We then followed Allen into the largest room I had ever seen. There had to be at least a hundred tables in this room. In the back there was a big wall with a gate on top of a counter, separating the kitchen from the lunchroom. The line wasn't very long. As I was taking in the room I felt myself being pushed out of the way. "Excuse you!" I said, but got no response. The man was the same who I had seen before walking away from Ashley. "Kanda." Allen called the man. He stopped for a few seconds, then turned around, staring daggers at Allen. "Come here and apologize to Dallas." Allen said, and I looked up at him. "It's fine, I don't-" but Allen cut me off. "No, it's not." Kanda then looked at Ashley who was staring at him, and stalked off to an empty table.

I sighed and walked into the line, having Allen and Ashley at my sides. "That was really rude." Ashley said. "Yeah, what is with him?" I asked. "Kanda's just... I don't know. He's always like this. I guess no one knows for sure except for him." Allen said, and I settled for that.

As we waited in the short line, I got more and more curious looking a Ashley. "Ashley, why are you barefoot?" I said quizzically.

"Well, I needed money for food, and in India everyone is pretty much barefoot so..." she trailed off. "Oh. But you're not originally from India." It wasn't a question, but she replied anyway. "Yeah. I don't really remember where I'm originally from anymore, I've traveled around so much." She said, a hint of sadness in her tone. I gave her a sympathetic look. Then my attention was brought back to the line, and it was my turn to order.

A man with dark skin and sunglasses turned around. He had his hair in a long braid, and was wearing a sleeveless shirt. "Well, well, looks like I've got two new customers!" he said joyfully, looking at me and Ashley. He smiled. "I'm Jerry. Now what can I do for you today?" He asked.

"Uh, I'm Dallas. Oh, and this is Ashley." I said, gesturing to her. "And..." I continued, "Well...what do you have?" I asked hesitantly. Jerry let out a long, loud laugh. "We got just about anything you can order! Just say anything you want." _'Anything I want?'_ I thought hopefully.

"Okay then...I'll have... Steak, medium rare, with mash potatoes and gravy, some french fries, maybe some rice too, oh, and sesame chicken, I love that. Also add some mitarashi dango, and chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries on top. And I'll also add some ramen noodles, please." I smiled wide at Jerry's shocked expression. "A little lady like you is gonna eat that much?" He said incredulously, looking at my stomach. I laughed a little and said, "Yes." He then laughed and agreed.

I turned to face Ashley as my food was being prepared. She was giving me a look. So was Allen. "What?" I said, "I'm starving, I haven't had lunch today." I was starting to become comfortable around them, even though I didn't know them very well. They laughed a little, and I turned to get my tray. There were about seven plates balancing on it, and I used my vast ninja skills to make sure none of them toppled over. I started walking to a table in the corner of the room and Ashley followed. I looked at her tray to see that she ordered rice, noodles, creme brulee, and a pear.

"Yes!" I exhaled as I put down my tray on the table. Ashley sat next to me. I looked at her and smiled, "I didn't drop any of it. I'm proud of myself now." We chuckled. Allen hadn't come to sit down yet. Was he still ordering food? Or did it just take him long to figure out what he wanted? Eventually, Allen, or who I thought was Allen, came over with a mountain of plates, which he placed next to him. He sat down across from me and smiled like that was the most normal thing in the world. Me and Ashley stared at him, mouths agape.

He looked at my tray, and his eyes widened. "You, uh, have quite an appetite...for a girl." He said, grabbing ten of his plates from the top of the mountain and scarfing them down. I blushed after finishing my food in a few minutes; boy was that mitarashi dango filling. "What's that supposed to mean? I love food. And to eat. But it's not like you can say anything, are you a little hungry today or what?" I said defensively. "I love food too." he said, smiling.

As Allen started scarfing down his food like he would never eat again, I turned my head to see a girl with bright pink, shoulder length hair sitting all alone, hunched over her food. I poked Ashley, who looked up. "Yes?" she said, her mouth half full. I smiled then turned to look at the girl. "Let's go ask if she wants to sit with us." I said quietly, then, without waiting for an answer, I got up and started walking toward her. Allen looked up but just kept eating.

I went behind the girl with pink hair and tapped her shoulder softly. When she looked up, me and Ashley smiled at her. "Would you like to sit with us?" Ashley asked politely. She looked at us with big, hazel eyes, then at her empty table. "Um...sure." She said, shrugging. She then followed us back to our table. When we sat down again I was in the middle between Ashley and the girl. "What's your name?" I asked.

"I'm Raikou." she said quietly._ 'Raikou...that's an interesting name. I wonder that it means.' _"I'm Dallas." I said. "And I'm Ashley." She mumbled hello's to us. Allen finished his last plate and sighed, content. "Hi, I'm Allen Walker." He said, a little late. She smiled at him briefly.

"So, Raikou...where are you from? I'm from here in England." I said, trying to make conversation. "Same here." She said. I think she was starting to grow more comfortable. Maybe. "I've traveled a lot. But I just came from India," Ashley said, "Are you a new exorcist too?"

"No" She said simply. "I'm new here, but I just got this uniform...I don't really know what it's for, but..." She trailed off.

"That's a finder's uniform. It's a finder's job to go searching for innocence, and to accompany exorcists on their missions. We don't have many girl finders...Actually, I don't think we have any at all besides you. Welcome to the Order, Raikou." Allen said as he gave her that warm smile he had. Raikou's eyes widened briefly before going back to normal.

"So, Raikou...what does that mean? I'm really curious." Ashley said. "Raikou means lightning in Japanese." She said. Me and Ashley looked at each other.

"Lightning? Really? That is the most amazing name ever!" I said, forgetting I was talking to kind-of-but-not-really-strangers. To my surprise, everyone laughed, including Raikou. "Yeah, I guess so." she said, smiling at me.

A moment later, three more exorcists came to sit down at our table. One was a girl with long black hair that was kept into two ponytails. There was also a woman with a mess of curly shoulder length brown hair. Both of them sat on either side of Allen, giving us curious glances. The other exorcist was a tall man with short black hair and white bangs that flopped over his face and went all the way down to his chin. Kind of odd, I thought, but whatever. Sometimes odd was good.

"Hey guys," Allen started, "this is Dallas, Ashley, and Raikou." he introduced us. I looked up at the three exorcists. The girl with ponytails said "Hi! I'm Lenalee Lee." before she smiled and waved. "Hello, I'm Miranda Lotto." the other woman said. "I'm Arystar Krory. It is nice to meet you." Said the man formally. We all smiled. "What brings you to the order?" Lenalee asked. "I'm a new exorcist, and so is Dallas." Ashley said, gesturing to me. "I'm a finder." Raikou said.

After we finished eating, Komui came in the cafeteria looking for us. "Oh, good, your done eating. Come with me, girls. You need your exorcist uniforms." I was about to follow him and Ashley when I realized Raikou wasn't following. I ran over to her quickly. "Come on!" I said, pulling her to her feet and dragging her along before I could lose sight of Ashley and Komui.

* * *

Komui led us to a large room filled with messy desks and people wearing white lab coats running all about. "This is the science department. If you'll follow me we can find Johnny; he's the one who makes the uniforms." He pushed up his glasses and led us to a man with sandy hair pulled pack in two puffy pigtails, and he wore giant, round glasses. "These are the two new exorcists, do you have their uniforms ready?" "Yes, chief." The man named Johnny said. He rummaged through a box and pulled out two bags. He gave one to me and one to Ashley. "Follow me." Johnny said.

We followed him to the back of the giant room where there were many desks and cubicles. Even though this was the back of the room, it was still crowded with people. Johnny led us to in front of a cubicle with a curtain over the opening. It wasn't really a curtain though, just a bed sheet. So I had to be careful where I stood when I changed. "You can change in there." he said. "I'll go first." I volunteered.

I slipped through the curtain and opened the plastic bag. I didn't pay attention to what the outfit looked like until I pulled it over my head. The fabric was unbelievably comfortable. But I felt bare in a way. Why was that? I looked in the full length mirror that was beside a completely cluttered desk and sucked in a breath. The uniform was absolutely amazing. It was hard to believe that a man could make something this beautiful. The top was black, short sleeved, with the silver buttons and all the uniformed white stripes. I noticed when I was buttoning them that my name was engraved on the back of each one, which made me smile. The collar was just like Lenalee's, kind of a turtle neck thing goin on. There was the elaborately designed cross embroidered over my heart, which made me feel...I couldn't find the right word. But what shocked me was the big, white rose on the back of my top. No one else had that. It matched my bracelets...

The extremely short mini skirt was what made me feel bare. I had never worn anything this short in my entire fourteen years until now. It came maybe about a foot or so above my knees. The skirt was black, but on the sides there were silver buttons, which were roses, that were just above a slit of white fabric. The boots were short, and very comfortable. They had white roses on the sides, too. I absolutely _adored_ this uniform.

I checked myself in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was okay before going to the makeshift curtain and pulling it aside slowly. I looked up and was surprised to see Allen had come over, and another guy who was kind of cute. He had a flame of red hair with a black headband that had green scale designs on it holding up his bangs, and a black eye patch over his right eye. The eye that was showing was a beautiful emerald green. He was talking to Allen when I came out, but abruptly stopped. Everyone, including Raikou and Ashley, looked at me wide-eyed. I could see a blush creep up on Allen's cheeks as he looked me over, and I smiled sheepishly at him.

The boy with red hair whistled after checking me out and came to my side, putting his arm around me. "Hey there. I'm Lavi. What's your name, beautiful?" he asked. I smiled and blushed. How old was he? Definitely older than fourteen. But he was extremely cute and, besides, what did age matter? "I'm Dallas." I said, smiling at him. He leaned closer. "Well, Dallas, how about you and me head to my room and-" But he never finished his offer. Allen had gotten up to shove him away from me. "You don't talk to a girl like that!" He said, making me blush even deeper. Allen was so polite. Lavi chuckled.

"Chill, Allen. I wasn't really gonna do anything." Allen punched him, then turned to me. "I'm really sorry Dallas. Lavi's just an idiot." I smiled as I heard Lavi say, "Hey! You are too!" We laughed. "No, I don't mind." Lavi winked at me and I let out a giggle. Then I turned to Ashley and Raikou. "Guys, are you sure it's not too...ya know..." I said, gesturing to the uniform. Everyone in the room talked at once, but what I got out most was Lavi saying "No, you look hot in it!" So I grasped that I did, in fact, look rather nice in my exorcist uniform. I smiled at them. "Ashley, it's your turn." I said, taking her place next to Raikou as she headed for the cubicle.

Lavi was looking at me again. I looked up at him and he winked at me. I smiled and blushed. Allen was looking at me too. I wasn't used to being, well, looked at so much. It kind of made me...happy? There was an awkward silence, so I started doing the awkward turtle. Raikou joined in. We looked at each other and laughed while Lavi and Allen looked utterly clueless. Then for the first time I noticed Raikou's uniform. It suited her, even if it was a little big, it was still cute. It was like a big, sand-colored rain coat with zippers and buttons. It went down to her knees. All the other finders I saw had pants, but she wasn't wearing any. I guess it could be a dress on her. Although I was quite tempted to say, 'Hey Raikou, your not wearing any pants!' But that would be stating the obvious and would most likely make another awkward turtle. So I just stayed quiet.

It was then that Kanda came striding in, and said, "Have any of you seen Komui?" But right at that moment, Ashley came out of the cubicle. My eyes widened at her uniform. It was gorgeous. Everyone's attention averted to her as she walked out. Her uniform was a black dress with the cross embroidered over her heart and the traditional silver buttons. The dress was long, going down to just above her ankles. But what was shocking was the slash in the dress on the right side that went from the bottom of her skirt all the way up to her right hip. There was a little holder strapped to her right leg that held what looked like a dagger. I guessed that that was her weapon. She had black shorts underneath the dress so nothing would be revealed. She also wore long, black boots which definitely suited her.

After taking in her uniform, I noticed Kanda staring at her, his usually narrow eyes a little wide, and looking a tad bit softer. I decided to speak. "Ashley, you look amazing!" I said, and Lavi went by her. Of course, he started flirting, but I couldn't tell what he was saying. I was busy noticing Kanda noticing Ashley. "Hey, Kanda." He turned around, pulling his eyes off of Ashley. Did he just look reluctant? He didn't say anything, just glared at me.

"I forgive you." I said, smiling innocently. "I never apologized." He said coldly. "I know." I replied, "And I don't think you will. But I forgive you anyways." I said, before leaving him to go talk to Ashley. Lavi had stopped flirting and started talking to Kanda, calling him "Yu."

"Ashley," I started, "Was Kanda the one who brought you to the order?" I asked.

She sighed and looked over at him. "Yes. I had to spend a whole week cooped up in a train with him. It was so annoying! _He's_ annoying." She said. "Wow." Me and Raikou felt sorry for her. "I know." She said. Then, Komui came in, and Kanda told him something before leaving. Me and Raikou watched as Ashley watched him walk out of the room. _'Huh. Maybe she likes him.'_ I thought. Lavi left the room too and Raikou watched him. He probably brought her here, which was why he winked at her before he left. The again, he winked at all of us.

Now the only people left in the area were Ashley, Raikou, Allen, Komui, and me. Komui then turned to Allen. "Allen, would you mind showing these girls to their rooms? I'm sure they're exhausted." Allen nodded and walked toward us, telling us to follow him. We waved to Komui then walked out of the science department.

All of us walked, Allen leading us, past about a hundred doors before we stopped in front of a wall with three doors. He pointed to the one in the middle. "That one's yours, Raikou. The one on the left is Lenalee's and the one on the right is Lavi's." Raikou said goodbye to us before we left. We went down several hallways and passed a couple more hundred doors before we stopped again, this time in front of four doors.

The doors weren't super close together, which was good. Allen brought Ashley in front of the door on the far left. "This one's yours. The one right next to it is mine, then the one on the right of that is Kanda's, and Dallas yours is right there." He said, pointing to the door on the far right. Ashley said goodnight and went into her room quickly, closing the door. I went into my room and, to be honest, was quite disappointed.

The room was absolutely the definition of plain. The walls were a little cracked where they met the ceiling, and were off-white. They matched the bed's sheets, which were off-white as well. _'I'm definitely going to have to work in here...' _I thought, then I turned around to Allen, who was standing by the door. "You can come in if you want." I said. He smiled. "I actually have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow. You and Ashley should come train with us. Raikou can come too." He said and I smiled. "I would absolutely love to." I said. He then turned and closed the door behind him. I looked around my room one more time to see if there were any bright spots.

My luggage was beside the bed, like I knew it would be since on the way to the Order that's what Allen had told me would happen. I looked up. There was a small stain glass window in my room. It had the image of a rainbow. It was beautiful. What was even better was that I could open it and look out over the cliff into the sea the Order looked over. After looking at the window a moment longer, I put on some night clothes and, exhausted, collapsed onto my bed.

I thought about the days events. How I met with Allen, coming to the order, making some new almost friends... Then I thought more about Allen and Lavi and Kanda. Kanda was an asshole, that much I knew. Though he seemed to maybe be a tad bit less of an asshole with Ashley. But, what did I know. And Lavi...I guessed he was eighteen. Boy, was he hot. And...hot. And he was very flirty, which I don't mind being flirted with, it gives me a self esteem boost to be honest. Plus, he seemed like he had a sweet side, and I thought that he would be a great friend to have. And then there was Allen.

Allen...was amazing. He was adorable...and when he was mad, he was extremely hot. He had a passion, a determination about him when he fought akuma...he had a purpose, a reason. I really wanted to get to know Allen more, I really did. _'Tomorrow I should fight against him when we train,' _I thought. I yawned. My whole life was going to change, going to be different. I would have a new family. I then decided that I was going to get closer to not only Allen, Lavi, Raikou, and Ashley. Yes, I was going to try the unthinkable. I was going to get close to Kanda, too, even if it killed me. Which, I hoped it wouldn't. I closed my eyes and slowly fell asleep with thoughts of all the guys floating around in my head.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_~Ashley~_

As soon as I entered my new room I was very disappointed. I'd seen dirt that looked better than this room. I mean it wasn't the worst place to sleep, it did have a roof, but it just didn't have any color or happiness in it. I probably shouldn't complain for it's been a while since I've actually slept indoors, but I was just hoping to find, well, I don't know something a little more cheery. I looked around and found a small dark black bureau with a mirror hanging over it, a desk, a bed, and next to the bed was a nightstand that had an alarm clock and a hairbrush sitting on top of it. The walls were the color of dust, and so were the sheets. 'I wonder what a little paint would do.' I thought. I walked over to the bureau and pulled at the doors. They wouldn't budge. I pulled harder. They still wouldn't open. It wasn't until my third try that I was finally able to open the bureau. I wrapped my sari around a hanger and placed it on the bar in the bureau.

I sighed and ran my hand through my long blond hair. So much had happened in one day that I was still trying to let it all sink in. I walked over and sat on the edge of my new bed. It was soft and, despite its appearance, surprisingly comfortable. I smiled to myself. I missed sleeping in a bed. I took off my black boots. I didn't have any Pajamas so I just stayed in my exorcist uniform. I really liked my uniform; it was just my type of outfit; medieval yet modern looking. My favorite part was the long slit that started at my right hip and continued all the way down. I also really liked the strap on my right leg that held my dagger. Dallas had an amazing uniform too, it really suited her personality. I pulled back the covers and then snuggled under the blanket.

No matter how hard I tried I just could not fall asleep. I tossed and turned as my mind continued to think back to everything that had happened this past week starting with meeting the akuma and Kanda. Kanda, what a strange man he was. He's surrounded with so many good, nice people like Allen and Lenalee, but still he continues to wear that scowl on his face. My thoughts then wondered to Komui and Hevlaska. Komui had made a comment about my innocence and Dallas's having abnormal synchronization rates, I wondered what that meant for me and Dallas. I also wondered what Hevlaska was, what exactly akuma were, and what innocence was. I then thought back to meeting Raikou. I really liked Raikou, she seemed to have a down to earth and sweet personality. I also loved Raikou's amazing pink hair. I liked Dallas too; she seemed to have a very bold, outgoing personality which is one of the many things I really admired about her. I had a really strange feeling that Dallas, Raikou, and I were going to become really good friends. My thoughts then moved in to Allen and Lavi. Allen seemed like a sweet boy although I wondered what was up with his silvery white hair, and that scar above his left eye, but all in all I really liked Allen; he seemed like he would be easy to talk to and will always be there if you needed help. Lavi on the other hand well…. He was super cute, actually hot is a much better word to use, but he was also a big perv. When I came out in my exorcist outfit he came over to me and put his arm around me and then whispered in my ear, "That looks really hot on you but I bet it would look better-" Allen punched Lavi before he could finish. "Lavi, how many times do I have to tell you to not talk to girls like that!" Lavi shrugged before he winked at me. I couldn't help but smile at the whole scenario. Although Lavi was a perv there was something about him that I really liked. I think it was his carefree, happy personality.

Still not being able to find sleep, I sighed and got out of bed. _'Since I can't sleep I might as well explore the castle.' _I thought to myself. I opened my door and went outside. I was hoping to find a way outside where I could see the moon and the stars. I knew that one of the reasons I could not sleep was because I didn't have endless miles of sky above me as I slept.

I continued to wander aimlessly around the halls until I discovered a door. When I opened it I found a balcony that encircled the whole perimeter of the castle. I walked over to the edge of the balcony and stared down into the ocean. Above me a full moon was bathing the world with its silvery glow, and the stars that were sprinkled across the sky like diamond dust were twinkling to each other. My hair and dress swayed in the soft spring breeze. It was so peaceful and very surreal. I climbed up on the edge of the balcony and leaned up against a pillar. I then took out my dagger and looked at it. It was a beautiful dagger. It had a picture of Saint George killing a dragon on a moonlit night engraved on the blade. On the hilt was black onyx and on the very end of the hilt was a black rose carved out of onyx. I then closed my eyes and let myself drown in the sound of rushing waves and tweeting seagulls. I only had a moment of peace though for shortly after I had closed my eyes I began to hear the sound of footsteps. When I opened my eyes I saw none other than Kanda standing in front of me. I let out an exasperated sigh.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked. His gaze was as cold and uncaring as ever.

"I couldn't sleep. So I decided to go somewhere I could see the night sky. I just love the night, and all the secrets it contains. The moon is my favorite thing about it. I could just stare at it for hours on end... Anyways, why are you out here? Could you not sleep either?" I asked.

"That's none of your business."

"Ugh, why don't you ever answer my questions?"

"Because I don't like to answer stupid questions, especially from someone who doesn't know how to activate their innocence." he replied.

Anger flooded over me and before I knew it I had drawn my dagger and without even saying innocence activate it changed into a sword. "I can activate my innocence!" I said as I swung my sword at him, but he was faster and already had his sword drawn and blocking mine. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the balcony. We stood like that for a few seconds and I glared at him, but as soon as I had realized what I just did I dropped my sword to my side and ran back to my room. I couldn't believe what I did. I've never attacked anyone, not even when someone who hurt me, so why did I just strike at Kanda? Was it the innocence? As soon as I found my room I climbed back into bed and went to sleep as tears of frustration and shame rolled down my face.

* * *

Dallas was standing outside of Ashley's room, impatiently tapping her foot. If Ashley didn't come out soon they would miss breakfast. Dallas knocked on Ashley's door for what felt like the millionth time. "What's taking her so long?" thought Dallas . Worried, she decided to go in and get Ashley herself. When she opened the door she was appalled to find Ashley still sound asleep.

"What the-Ashley wake up! Did you not here me knocking on your door?" Ashley didn't say anything; she just continued to sleep.

"Ashley, wake up were going to miss breakfast!" Dallas said as she moved to the foot of the bed and poked Ashley, still no answer. This time Dallas did not hesitate to grab Ashley's shoulders and shake her awake.

* * *

I jolted awake and pulled out my dagger as it changed into a sword, and struck at the thing that had woken me.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" I heard a familiar voice scream. I opened my eyes and saw Dallas standing there up against the wall with my sword at her throat. Her eyes were wide with fear and surprise.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," I said as I quickly dropped my sword to the ground.

"What was that about? You almost killed me!" Dallas said, ticked off.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you that when I'm asleep almost nothing can wake me up, and when it does I'm not awake so instinct takes over and I attack whatever woke me up. In other words: I'm not a morning person." I smiled sheepishly. "I really am sorry."

"Thanks for telling me that before. God." She said sarcastically.

"I really am sorry," I said again as I pulled on my boots and ran a brush through my hair.

"Forget it. Come on lets go get some breakfast."

* * *

On our way to the cafeteria we met up with Raikou. She didn't say anything when we said good morning to her. She just walked quietly with us, almost like a zombie. "Raikou are you okay?" I asked.

"So tired" she mumbled. We walked into the line and ordered our food. As we walked over to the table where we sat at yesterday, we walked past Kanda. Seeing him reminded me of last night and when he glared at me I did my best to glare back at him hoping that he would get the full taste of my disdain for him. When we sat down at the table I saw Krory, Miranda and Lenalee. Lenalee was the only one who greeted us with a good morning before she rushed off to the science department. Miranda and Krory were acting just like Raikou, like zombies. Miranda actually was face down on her plate sleeping, Krory just sat there staring off into the distance like he wasn't even there, Raikou just stared at her food, and Dallas- well, she scarfed down her food and then rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. Apparently exorcists aren't very chatty in the mornings. When I finished my breakfast Dallas asked us if we were ready to go meet up with Allen at the training grounds, and without waiting for us to answer, she dragged Raikou and I to the training grounds where two shirtless guys were awaiting us.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_~Raikou~_

I was staring off into space as I tailed behind Ashley and Dallas. I heard the creek of doors, and my attention was drawn to it. Behind the doors were two shirtless men. They were standing on a platform that was above the sand that covered the entire floor of the room. I noticed out of the corner of my eye Dallas drooling over the sight of Allen. My eyes followed in the direction she was staring in. I hadn't really gotten a good look at him yet. He was slender but had a nice muscular build. His hair was messy and askew, a drop of sweap rolled down his kneaded brow, as he looked to be in deep concentration. Allen and Lavi were both breathing hard. Allen ran, swinging a fist at Lavi. He blocked, but Allen dug his other fist into Lavi's exposed stomach. Allen withdrew as Lavi crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Ahaha, You're pretty good for a beansprout," Lavi said, wincing with pain.

"I don't want to hear you say that," Allen said, annoyed, but held out a hand to help him up.

Lavi got up, brushing himself off. He turned his head noticing us. He posed, putting his hands behind his head, smiling a crooked smile. "You know, It's a rule to have your shirts off in the training ground," he said with a wink. I was tired...okay. Without saying anything I started to unzip my jacket. Lavi watched with anticipation, and I'm pretty sure his nose started spurting blood.

"Raikou! What the hell are you doing," I heard from Dallas.

"Taking my shirt o..." I started. It hit me. Lavi was just being Lavi. I zipped up my jacket, the tips of my ears turned red. Just then Kanda shoved past us. I was saved from my embarrassment. He looked like he was in a fowl mood. Ashely's mood had suddenly had changed for the worst, too. I could practically feel the negative energy flowing between them. Allen didn't look to happy either.

"Ah, um please come in," he said, beckoning us forward. We entered the training room, and the doors closed behind us. As Ashley entered there just happened to be a banana peal sitting right in front of her foot, and of coarse she slipped, crashing into Kanda's back. He balanced himself, then whipped around and pointed his sword at her.

"Would you not soil my clothes? Really, they were just washed." His eyes were cold and unforgiving. He unzipped his uniform and tossed it to the floor.

Ashley looked furious, she reached for her dagger, which transformed into a sword. Kanda easily blocked each blow. Ashley was tiring and Kanda looked as if he was ready to end the fight, he was about to hit her with the back side of his sword, but slipped on the same banana peal and tumbled to the ground and hitting his head, he was out. The doors creaked open and a man appeared. The same one from the hospital. He was wearing a white uniform with a red cross on the shoulder. He took Kanda's foot and dragged him away. The door closed and Kanda was gone. Everyone seemed to be somewhat dazed.

"So Allen," Dallas said, trying to break the silence.

"I couldn't fight a girl like yourself," He replied back, cutting her off.

"I would!," Lavi said happily "and if I win you have to go with me on a date." Allen looked some what shocked but said nothing.

"Okay, but if I win I get to fight Allen," her bracelets melted, forming fingerless gloves. I sat near the door and watched.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_~Dallas~_

I clenched my hands, which were now covered by my fingerless gloves, into fists, readying myself. I wouldn't actually mind going on a date with Lavi, but I wanted to prove myself. I also wanted to fight against Allen. So I _would _beat Lavi.

He pulled out a small hammer, and I watched in amazement as it grew and grew, towering over Lavi, and yet he still held it with ease. He noticed my amazed look, and smirked. "You ready?" He asked.

I looked into his eye. "Of course." I said, narrowing my eyes and smiling slightly.

"I'm warning you though," Lavi started, "I won't go easy on you." He finished with a wink. My smile grew.

"Fine by me." Lavi then held his hammer up, it was right above me. He jumped in the air and hit it down, I dodged, barely missing it. _'He's not joking when he says he's not going easy,' _I thought. _'Okay, Innocence. Let's see what you can do.' _

I ran toward Lavi and got close to him, then I punched him hard in the stomach. I saw a little blood come out of his mouth as he coughed. My eyes widened. "Oh my God! Are you okay?" I said, running toward him.

"Extend!" Lavi screamed, and before I knew it his hammer had collided with my chest. I gasped for breath as I flew into the wall, the wind was knocked out of me. Plus, my chest hurt like crap. When I looked up, I saw Lavi standing on his hammer. "You know, your not really supposed to check and see if your enemy is okay in battle." He said, smiling. I stood up slowly and wiped my mouth. He jumped off his hammer and lifted it again. "Hellfire and Ashes," He shouted, "FIRE STAMP!"

I gasped as an unnatural wind blew between us, encircling Lavi in a tornado of sand. My short skirt flew up, and my cheeks flared red as I tried furiously to keep it down. I saw Lavi smiling at me, and my blush deepened. Then I noticed an odd marking on the ground around us, glowing red. Out of the marking came a hissing and spitting dragon, made of fire. My eyes widened. The dragon launched toward me and I ran under it, toward Lavi. The whirlwind had stopped, and as the dragon chased me I flipped over Lavi, our faces inches apart. As I went over his head I snatched his headband.

When I landed on the ground I tied Lavi's headband around my wrist and turned around, facing the dragon. How the hell was I supposed to fight this? All I had as weapons were my hands, and they would surely get burnt if I tried hitting the dragon. As the fire dragon got closer I put my hands defensively above my face and closed my eyes, waiting for the burn, but it never came. I opened my eyes cautiously to see that the dragon was hitting some sort of glowing wall.

"A...shield?" I said to myself. After many failed attempts, the dragon disappeared, and Lavi stared at me, shocked. I looked around to see Allen, Ashley, and Raikou staring at me too. I felt my ears get hot. Then I turned to look at Lavi, a new determination in my eyes. I ran toward him and poked both his sides, watching him wince in pain. I remembered his headband around my wrist. "You know, your hair looks really good down like that," I said.

His crimson hair fell over his face, and he smiled crookedly before winking at me. "Thanks," He said. He swung his hammer at me and I jumped over it before slapping his cheek. He grunted. He swung his hammer again, and this time it caught my legs, causing me to fall on my face.

I got up quickly and pushed my hand out, just in case Lavi might attack me again. But as I held my hand out, something came out of my palm. A white beam of light. It pushed Lavi against the wall, and I froze in shock when he fell to the floor. He coughed and sputtered, and I heard him mumble, "Okay, you win." I walked over to him with a triumphant, yet confused smile on my face.

I bent over to help Lavi up, and he took my hand, standing before pulling me into his chest. "Whaa-," I started, but stopped as he put his lips next to my ear.

"You know, we could still go on that date if you want to," He said, causing my cheeks to blaze red. I didn't say anything as I felt his hand go down my arm, and then enclose around my wrist. Before I knew it, Lavi snatched his headband from my wrist and tied it around his head again, holding up his bangs. I stood there for a moment as he walked away before following him to the waist-high platform. He turned to me. "Think about it," He said before winking at me. Allen gave him a look as he climbed onto the platform.

"She's all yours, Beansprout." He said to Allen, patting his shoulder before sitting next to Raikou. I stayed in the training field, trying to recover from what had just happened between Lavi and me. I pushed the thoughts aside and looked up at where Allen was standing on the platform. As I looked at him, I lost my train of thought.

He had a nice muscular build, despite his slender frame. I couldn't help but stare at his chest, it was so...hot, for lack of a better word. But one thing that disturbed me was his left arm. It was completely black, with circular markings that surrounded his shoulder. I knew this arm was his anti-akuma weapon, even if I didn't understand how that could be, but there was something odd about it beyond the color. My eyes trailed from his arm to his beautiful blueish gray eyes. I looked at the red scar above his left eye. The eye that could see akuma's souls, and could sense them from miles away. The scar was red, and above his eye it had a pentacle, then it went into a line with a small curved design just below his eye. That scar also made me curious. So did his gorgeous white colored hair, but I decided that all of those things could be explained at a later time.

I met his eyes with mine and put a hand on my hip. "So, are you ready to fight?" I asked.

Allen smiled. "Well, I guess I have no choice," he said, and then he winked at me and jumped down onto the training ground. He walked ahead of me and I stood there in silence, shocked. _'Oh my gosh, Allen just winked at me!' _I thought, and a tingling sensation came over my body as I got goosebumps. I stopped behind Allen and watched him turn to face me.

I watched in amazement as a ripple of green light ran down his left arm, transforming it along the way, making it look like a giant claw. The ripple spread over his whole body, and then there was a blinding flash of light, so bright that I was forced to close my eyes. When I opened them again, Allen looked completely different. His hair spiked up in the back, and he was wearing some sort of white vest thing with a silver mask nestled in the fur on the back. How was it possible for that to happen? Allen caught my surprised look and smiled.

I stood up straighter and looked him in the eyes. There was nothing said before we launched into our battle.

He slashed his claw at me mercilessly, and I dodged the attack, just barely saving myself from getting cut. As I dodged his attack I saw an opening, and took it. I swung my fist forward, aiming at his bare stomach. Before my hand could make contact though, Allen's right hand firmly gripped my wrist and twirled me in a circle. I was slightly dizzy and facing away from him. When I regained my balance I stood there for a second, a little dazed. I turned slowly just as Allen's claw was about to strike me again. I put up my hands at once, creating a shield around me.

Allen didn't seem to surprised when he found that he couldn't get trough my shield, as if he was expecting me to make that move. I was suddenly filled with anger. Was he holding back on me, just because I was a girl? I tried to punch him multiple times, but he blocked all my blows with ease. This fact made me even angrier. I grunted as I tried to punch him over and over, all the while my blows being blocked. Allen suddenly flicked his arm out fast, and a strong gust of wind pushed me back, until I fell on flat on my back. As I stood up I heard Allen shout, "Clown Belt!"

White rope rushed toward me, binding me tightly, keeping my hands and feet together in a vice like grip. I tried to break out of it, struggling against the tight binding rope as I felt myself being pulled by it. As I got closer and closer to Allen, my curiosity for as to what he was going to do with me grew. We were inches apart when the rope stopped, and I stepped forward the slightest, only to slip on the very same banana peal that Kanda had slipped on not too long ago.

I went flying into Allen, and our foreheads bashed together. It hurt like hell. I had blacked out for a few sconds, and when I came to, I was lying on top of Allen, who was wincing and had his arm, which was now back to sort of normal, resting on his forehead. We both groaned in pain. "Tie," I heard Allen say from beneath me. I was very aware of his warm, exposed chest under me as he opened his eyes and looked into mine. I froze and stared back at him. "S-sorry," I mumbled, then quickly got up from on top of Allen, and smoothed out my uniform. He soon after rose to his feet, and smiled at me.

"You really are a great fighter, Dallas." He said as we walked back to the platform. Everyone watched us, which mde my cheeks grow slightly pink.

"T-thanks...you are too," I said. Why was I stuttering? I was never usually like this. He simply smiled at me, and climbed onto the platform. I was about to follow when I saw his hand outstretched before me. I looked into his gentle eyes before smiling back at him and taking his hand gladly. After getting up onto the platform, a small object collided with the side of my head.

"OUCH!" I screamed, and looked to see a small, golden creature floating at my eye level. It had a cross engraved on it's front, and was gold all around. Golden feathered wings, and a golden tail with a little circle at the end, small golden horns, and chubby little golden legs. I was rubbing my head and heard Allen come to my side. He grabbed the floating creature gingerly into his hands.

"Timcanpy! What are you doing? You should pay more attention to where your going, it was rude of you to run into Dallas." He said to the little thing. To be honest, it was the cutest creature I had ever seen. It, or judging by it's name, he, flew up to Allen's face and nuzzled his cheek before landing down back into Allen's hands. Me, Ashley, and Raikou were all intruigued by Timcanpy, and moved closer to get a better look. We were all crowded around Allen, and Lavi joined in the small huddle too.

"What is that?" Raikou asked, watching the little creature.

"He's Timcanpy. And he's a golem. Each exorcist has their own. You should get one before your first mission," Allen said, and we all looked at eachother. "So, Tim. What's up?"

Timcanpy opened a large mouth, exposing small but razor sharp teeth with a cranking noise. He lifted his head and a small poof of light came out, then grew to a scene. It was in Komui's dreadfully messy office, and Komui was facing us. Or, rather, he was facing Timcanpy. "Allen," Komui said, "You and Kanda are going on a mission together. Come to my office for more info on the subject, mkay?"

It was a short message, and when it ended, Allen sighed. "Great. I have to go with _him_." He sounded exhasperated. Timcanpy flew from Allen's hands and landed on top of his head, nestling in his snowy white hair. "I've gotta go," Allen said, "See you later." And then he walked out of the training ground, taking a white shirt and putting it on along the way.

I sighed and we-Raikou, Ashley, Lavi, and I- stood in silence until Lavi spoke up. "I wonder what Komui's having them do now," He said, mostly to himself. "Well, I've gotta go do some stuff. Later." He winked at all three of us before disappearing behind the large doors.

I sighed again. "Hey, you guys wanna hang out in my room? I'm pretty worn out." Raikou and Ashley agreed, and we left the training ground, turning in the general direction of my room.

Finally, we made it to my room, and I instantly collapsed onto my bed. "Oh my goodness." I said. I slid from my bed to the floor, my back resting against the side of my bed, and Raikou and Ashley sat on the floor too. I looked around my room, and suddenly, I was depressed. "I seriously need to redecorate this room. I've seen caves that look better than this. Though that window is really pretty," I said, and then gestured toward the stain glass window with the image of a rainbow on it.

"I know!" Ashley said, instantly starting a conversation. That made me smile. "My room is horrible, it absolutely needs to be redone. What about you, Raikou?" she asked.

"Mine's okay, its not exactly what I would want though...but that's a great idea, we should do that." she said.

"Yeah, we could ask Komui if we could get the supplies and whatnot, and then we could do our rooms. We would need help, though. Maye we could ask Allen..." I trailed off. Ashley and Raikou looked at one another before looking at me again.

"Dallas, I think you like Allen." Ashley said, and my cheeks flushed.

"N-no! Well..." I smiled, "Yes." Ashley smiled and so did Raikou.

"I knew it. You're always looking at him. And you always blush when he looks at you and stuff." Raikou said. Oh God. Was it that obvious?

"Is it that obvious?" I asked them both, echoing my thoughts.

"Not really." Raikou said, and so did Ashley.

"Good. That's good. but anyway...Lavi could help us paint to. Speaking of Lavi...he's so incredibly hot. I mean, oh. My. Gosh." I said, and smiled.

"Yup, he's pretty hot..." Raikou said, and Ashley nodded her head.

"He seems like such a perv, though." Ashley said.

"I don't think he is. I think he could be really nice. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but I think he just likes teasing us..." I said, and Raikou quickly agreed. Before we could talk any longer on the subject, however, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," I shouted, and Lenalee opened the door.

"Komui wants to see you in his office," she said, smiling. "Ashley, Dallas, you two have your first assignment. Raikou can go to his office too, but she won't be going on the mission with you." We looked at Raikou and then back at Lenalee. She smiled at us as we stared at her in confusion.

"I'll lead the way if you like!" she said cheerfully. "That would be awesome." Ashley said, and we followed Lenalee out the door and down the hall.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_~Ashley~_

When we entered Komui's office we were surprised to see Lavi sitting on a couch in front of Komui's desk. He was fully clothed, sadly, and happy to see us.

"Hey Dallas, Hey Ashley, glad you could make it. Now we can finally get started." Lavi said when he saw us.

"Wait, Lavi what are you doing here?" I asked confused as Dallas and I carefully made our way around the maze of papers that were scattered all over the floor and sat down next to Lavi on the couch. Komui really needed to do some organizing.

"I generally send two exorcists on a mission but seeing as it's your first one I thought it would be best if Lavi went with you so that you could have some guidance and help." Komui answered.

"Oh cool," I said. I was so relived that Lavi would be going with us to help us on our first mission.

"So how are you two liking the order so far?" Komui asked.

"I like it. Everyone's been so helpful and nice, well that is everyone except Kanda.'' I replied.

"And our rooms need a lot of work," Added Dallas, "They're so plain, and depressing. Me, Ashley, and Raikou were wondering if you could get us some paint and stuff so that we can decorate our rooms and make them more homey." I was surprised by Dallas's boldness.

"That's a fantastic idea," Komui said excitedly, "Just make a list of everything you want and give it to me before you leave for your mission. Your supplies should be here by the time you get back."

"Thank you," I said, "having our rooms decorated will make the Black Order feel more like home. We really appreciate it."

"Your welcome," Komui said smiling, "Now as exorcists your jobs are not only to destroy akuma and stop the Millennium Earl, but also to retrieve innocence."

"Umm, Komui, what exactly is innocence, and what are akuma, and who's the Millennium Earl?" I asked.

"Oh I forgot that I didn't have time to tell you about innocence when we first met. I'll explain it to you. It all started with a cube that was found a century ago. In this cube was an instruction on how to use the substance. This cube, or substance, was called "God's crystal" and it possesses a special power. We call it innocence. Ashley your dagger contains innocence and Dallas your bracelets, too, contain innocence. Anti-akuma weapons process the innocence and turn it into weaponry. The maker of the cube is known to have used this innocence. Facing off against evil, they fought the Earl of the Millennium and won, but in the end the world was destroyed. It happened about 7000 years ago and in the Old Testament was referred to as "Noah's great flood." However the cube tells us that those were the three days of darkness. And according to the cube the world is going to meet its end at the hands of the Earl. The three days of darkness will come again. So far the cubes prophecy has been correct. The Earl has returned to this world. Due to the cube's prophecy coming true the Vatican decided to follow the prophecy's message. They gathered apostles. Apostles are a "compatible person." Without the innocence compatible person the powers can not be used. The innocence compatible people are you exorcists," Komui paused to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his forefinger, "But the Earl hasn't forgotten the past either. He has created armies to destroy God. Those armies are the akuma. The Earl wants to destroy the innocence and stop the revival of it. Innocence has spread throughout the world because of Noah's great flood. There are 109 units of innocence in all. We need to find the innocence, and gather up an army of apostles to stop the Earl's army. The Earl is also on the move to find the innocence and destroy both it and the exorcists. It's basically a race to obtain innocence. If we lose the race the end will be just as the prophecy fore told, any questions?" Komui finished.

"How do you know where the innocence is?" Dallas asked.

"Innocence is so powerful that it generally will cause paranormal activity and supernatural phenomenon in the areas that it rests," this time it was Lavi that answered, "If the Black Order thinks that an area may have innocence in it, due to paranormal activity and supernatural phenomenon, then they send out finders to further investigate, and if the finders find innocence in that then the Order sends out an exorcist to retrieve it. The Black Order also has finders posted all over the world that are keeping a look out for innocence and they will tell the Order if they think they've found innocence in an area."

"Oh, okay thanks for explaining," Dallas said. Lavi smiled one of his crooked smiles in response.

"Anyway," continued Komui, "The mission you will be going on will be retrieving some innocence that has been found in Greece," Komui said as he pointed to the area that the innocence was found on the map behind his desk, "You need to retrieve it before the akuma get it. We don't have much time so if you want a more detailed description of your mission than just read this," he handed me, Lavi, and Dallas a big, fun packet of stuff. '_Great,_' I thought, '_I just love big, fun packets of stuff.' _"If you guys don't have any questions then quickly go back to your rooms and pack. Meet me back here when you have everything."

"Okay," we all said as we got up and left Komui's ridiculously unorganized office and headed back to our rooms to pack.

* * *

When I walked into my room after saying a brief "see you soon," to Dallas and Lavi I walked up to my bureau and opened the doors. Inside was my lonely red and gold sari and a small rectangular brown suitcase. I took out the suitcase and sat it down on my bed. I didn't have much to pack, seeing as the only things I owned was a sari and my exorcist uniform. I grabbed my sari from the bureau and the hairbrush from my night stand and put them in the suitcase. I also placed the big, fun packet of stuff Komui had given me into the suitcase. '_Man this is depressing_.' I thought, '_I don't own anything. Maybe I can go shopping in Greece , if I can find the money…._' Money, now that was something that's always been a problem for me. No matter how hard I've worked I've never been able to get enough of it. Sometimes I'd have enough to rent a room in a boarding house, like when I lived in Paris and was working for the Paris Ballet Company, but other times, like in India I barely had enough money to feed myself.

I sighed as I shut my suitcase. I then walked over to the small wooden desk in the corner of my room, and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the desk drawer, and began to write out a list of stuff I needed to decorate my room with. Here's what I wrote: Cotton candy blue paint, a blue bed spread, blue curtains, a wooden ballet bar, a full length mirror, various colors of paint, canvases and paintbrushes. I read over everything I had written to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and when I finished I folded up the piece of paper and put it in my pocket. '_I hope I didn't ask for too much. I don't want Komui to think I'm taking advantage of the Black Order's generosity._'I thought. I grabbed my suitcase and before walking out the door I took one last look at my new room, and wondered if it would feel like home when I got back from our mission.

* * *

When I walked into Komui's office for the second time that day I saw Lavi waiting in front of Komui's desk, but Dallas was no where in sight.

"Where's Dallas?" I asked.

"She went looking for Raikou so that she could get Raikou's list of what she wants for her room." Lavi replied.

"Oh okay," I said as I walked over to Komui and handed him my list of stuff, "I hope I'm not asking for too much," I told Komui, "I really don't want to take advantage of the Black Order's generosity."

"Don't worry about it Ashley. This is the least we can do to repay you exorcists for what you do. Oh and if you need to buy anything when your out on a mission, like clothes and food, just tell them to send the bill to the address of the Black Order and we'll pay for everything," said Komui

I smiled and said, "Thank you so much you don't know how much this means to me." Komui smiled in response.

"Hey Dallas," Lavi said drawing my attention to Dallas who had just walked in the door.

"Hey," Dallas smiled. She then walked over to Komui and handed him her and Raikou's list of supplies.

"Well, are you ready?" Komui asked as he stood up and walked toward the door.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I said as we followed Komui out the door. As we walked down many, many staircases I was beginning to have doubts about being an exorcist. I mean there was no way I was strong enough to kill akuma, much less defeat the Millennium Earl. The thought of it was just absurd. Why had the innocence chosen me? I honestly don't think I'm made for fighting. It has to be a mistake. I was pulled away from my thoughts when we finally reached a door that led to an underground tunnel that had a river running through it. On this river were small boats.

"We'll take one of these boats outside, and then we'll get on a train that will take us to Greece," explained Lavi.

"Cool," Dallas said as we got into one of the boats. I was still too distracted by my thoughts to say anything.

"Goodbye and good luck." Komui said as we slowly drifted down the river. Lavi was using a wooden pole to push the boat down the river, and I was just staring at the water when Dallas asked me, "Are you nervous?"

"A little," I replied.

"Me too," she said.

Lavi smirked before saying, "There's no need to be nervous when I'm here to protect you girls."

"Don't make me laugh, you and I both know that I'm stronger than you, so if anyone needs protecting it will be you." Dallas said. I laughed at Dallas's remark and Lavi smiled. Maybe this new life as an exorcist wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe I did belong here.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_~Raikou~_

The clouds drifted by as I gazed absently out my window. Dallas had left minutes ago with my list of items to buy for my room. It could use improvements like new paint and a few pandas. I had heard that Dallas was going to be attending a mission with Lavi and Ashley. I still hadn't gotten any missions as a finder, and I still hadn't met anyone new so far. It would be so boring until they got back. So maybe I would go on a little mission myself.

I stretched and left my small room behind me, entering the hall. I wasn't an exorcist, so I didn't think that anyone would notice me gone. There were so many staircases to pick from so there was no way of knowing which way to go. There was a man walking down the hallway with brown hair and red eyes.

"Um..." I whispered.

"Yes?" He swept his hair back.

"Er...Did you see a guy with red hair?" I fidgeted under his stare.

"I saw him go down that staircase..." He pointed past me.

"Oh...Thanks!," I turned around but he was gone.

I didn't have time to wonder about it and took his advice. After lots of steps I found myself in an underground river. There were small wooden boats bobbing up and down next to the walkway. I got in, untied the rope, and pushed off. I could see a faint light glowing in the distance. I decided it was who I wanted to follow.

After following them for what seemed like hours we finally came to a stop. Their boat drifted out of the tunnel, and I did the same when the coast seemed to be clear. When I emerged I found myself in a city canal. It wasn't long before I found the boat Lavi, Dallas, and Ashley were using. It was tied to a small floating dock. I came up next to it, getting out and tying it up. I got up and crawled out from the canal, getting a few concerned stares from passing people.

It wasn't long before I saw the flame of hair in a crowd. It was easy to blend in. They stopped at a train station, all they had to do was show the ticket seller their badges and they could get a free ride. When they had gotten onto the train, I did the same showing the man my badge and took the cart behind them. I slid on a pair of sunglasses and put my hood up so no one could see my pink hair and realize it was me.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_~Dallas~_

It was already starting to get dark as we boarded the train. Our luggage was taken away and we were given a first class cabin; as was expected. When we walked in through the small door, we were greeted by two dark red cushioned benches facing each other and a window with a matching curtain. Ashley slid onto one of the benches and I sat next to her, leaving the other bench to Lavi. As the train's whistle blew loudly, I looked out the window to see a full moon, bathing the scenery in its shimmering glory as the train started down the track.

Ashley yawned, which caused me to yawn, which caused Lavi to yawn, which made me laugh and sigh. "So, how long is this ride supposed to be?" I asked to no one in particular. Ashley turned to me.

"Well, Komaoi said that it should be around two days. Well, actually three because we'll get there at night on the third day,"

Me and Lavi exchanged a confused glance. "Um, Ashley? Who's 'Komaoi'?" I asked. She looked at me, shocked, her mouth slightly open.

"You know! The supervisor! He wears the beret, the white lab coat! Jeez, Dallas, I can't believe you forgot so quickly." She shook her head disapprovingly. Me and Lavi chuckled.

"That's _Komui_, Ashley." He said, and she stared at us.

"Wait, really?" She said, confused. I smiled.

"Yes, Ashley. Jeez, I can't believe you forgot so quickly." I mimicked her head shake of disapproval and laughed.

"Wow, we need to call him that now," Ashley said, laughing. "Yes, we should!" I agreed, and then laughed with her.

It was silent for a while, and the light in the cabin was growing darker and darker. I looked around for a clock, but didn't find one. "What time is it?" I asked. Lavi looked out the window.

"I would guess around eight-ish." he said, and I nodded.

* * *

The next few hours went by in silence, though it wasn't awkward. I was worn out from the training that went on today. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago I was fighting Allen back at the order. It felt like a few days ago. I looked at Lavi. The moonlight shining in from the window made his face look somewhat paler, but no less gorgeous.

My thoughts wondered through my life. I thought about all the events that had happened, leading up to this moment. Leading up to me being brought to the order by Allen. Leading up to me becoming and exorcist... Why would innocence choose me, out of all people? Why would God choose me, when he's the one I've been hating the most? Ever since the night of my tenth birthday, I've hated God with all my heart. So why would he choose me when I loathed him so much?

Since I learned about the Millennium Earl, I've been wondering why he didn't come for me or my father. I would've done anything to bring my sister and my mother back. Anything. So why wouldn't he come propose his offer to us, the ones who wanted it most of all? But then I thought about how if that did happen, I wouldn't have been alive to meet Allen. I wouldn't have met all of my new friends. And even if the Millennium Earl hadn't killed me, but if I didn't have the innocence, I would be alone. Even though my father would be with me, I would have still been completely _alone_. Alone...the word echoed through my mind.

No. I would have rather died than be alone. I would've rather become an exorcist that can avenge her family, then stay alone. I was always in a depressed state when I was with my father. I had no friends, I was too caught up in my own sadness. But now, everything was different. I had friends that understood me, that I could relate to. I wasn't fully over my past, but I was getting better at remembering it without being overcome by grief. It seemed as if before I came to the Black Order my whole life was in slow motion, and I just needed to find and embrace the innocence for it to be brought back to normal again.

Deep in thought, I looked out the window. The beautiful night sky was sprinkled with stars, the moon guiding the train with its effervescent beauty. Lavi was still awake, and Ashley was too, though she looked like she was drifting in and out of consciousness. I thought about how much I knew about Lavi, and I decided that it wasn't much. So why not fill the silence?

"Hey, Lavi?" His head turned from the window to look at me. When I broke the silence, Ashley looked up too. "I don't mean to pry, I'm just curious...But, how did you end up at the Order?" I hoped that I hadn't offended him with my question, and when he smiled at me, I was relieved.

"I'm a bookman." He said. Me and Ashley looked at each other with confusion written all over our faces. He smiled cockily. "Didn't think you would know, not many people do. We go around the world and record events that are hidden from history, and fight wars from different sides to see how it is from each person's point of view. We usually travel around a lot to get the information, then go to the next place."

"So, you're just here...to record?" I asked.

"So that's what you do when you're done? You just get up and leave like that?" Ashley said.

He smiled warmly at us. "Oh, don't worry girls. We won't be leaving the Order any time soon." _'Good,' _I thought.

"Wait..Who's _we_?" I said.

"Oh. Well, you see I'm not actually a bookman _yet_, I'm his apprentice. If you see an old geezer who looks like a panda walking around, that's him." Me and Ashley laughed.

"How can someone look like a panda?" Ashley asked.

"Believe me," Lavi said, "_he_ can." Ashley and I chuckled at his seriousness.

I relaxed into my seat more, it had to be around twelve in the morning or something like that. I closed my eyes, embracing the total darkness in the cabin, sighing. I was just about to fall asleep when Ashley nudged my shoulder. "Mmm?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Dallas?" She whispered. I rubbed my eyes before turning to face her.

"Yes?" I said. I wondered why she was whispering, but then I looked over at Lavi, and realized that he was asleep.

"Well, I was wondering. But what was your life like before you came to the order?" She asked. When I didn't answer she said, "You don't have to tell me, I understand if it's too hard to talk about or something."

"No, it's not that. It's just that you caught me by surprise. Of course I'll tell you. I don't really...know where to begin, I haven't told anyone this before." I whispered. "Well, on my tenth birthday my sister gave me my bracelets, and at the time of course I didn't know they were innocence. And on the same night an akuma killed my mother _and_ my sister..." I trailed off, and noticed when Lavi twitched in his sleep. "So I've pretty much been living the past four years with no purpose. Do you know what I mean? Like, I've been completely alone, even with my father right there, I've just been...alone." Ashley gave me a sympathetic look.

"Wow. That must have been awful for you...I'm so sorry." She said.

"I-it's okay...This is the first time I've been able to think about it without crying. And, well, Allen found me and brought me here after that, so yeah." I said. "But enough about me. What about you, I know you've traveled a lot, but what was your life like before that?"

Ashley took a deep breath before she launched into her story. "When I was seven, both my parents were killed by akuma, and on the day of their funeral I was told that I would be living with some relatives. So, after the funeral I ran away. I pretty much spent the rest of my life traveling around, moving from place to place. I couldn't ever stay in just one place because akuma would follow me wherever I went, so I was always on the run." Lavi twitched again in his sleep. Jeez, it was like he was a dog or something.

"When I was twelve I went into a museum in Germany," Ashley continued, "and in the museum was a dagger, my dagger. When I saw it I just had like a sudden impulse to take it. I had never stolen anything in my life unless it was necessary like food or clothes, but normally I wouldn't have stolen something from a museum. I felt so sick and disgusted with myself after that so I left Germany for India, and that's when Kanda found out I was an accomodator and brought me to the Order."

"Oh wow..." I said, and Ashley nodded. "So. About Kanda...what is up between you two? Like seriously, I can just feel the tension when you're in a room together." I said, changing the subject. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, don't even get me started. He never answers any of my questions, and yet he expects me to answer his. It is so infuriating! I can't stand that man! At all! When I rode on the train from India to the Order, he didn't tell me anything about where I was going, or what I was going to do! I even tried tugging on his ponytail to get him to tell me, but he said that if I tugged his hair again on that train then I would regret it. Ugh!" Ashley sighed in exasperation when she was finished. I couldn't help but laugh at how worked up she got over him. When I laughed she looked over at me.

"What?" she said.

"Nothing, I've just never seen you so angry. It's just kinda funny how passionate you are about it. Oh and by the way, he said 'that train', so technically tugging his hair when we get back wouldn't be a violation to what he said." I smiled mischievously and Ashley laughed.

"You're so right. I should do it again and see what he says."

"You should."

"I will."

"Okay then...Man...I really wish I could tug on Kanda's luscious hair."

"What?" Ashley said, giving me a look.

"Well, his hair looks so luscious! I wanna tug on it, too!" Me and Ashley laughed.

"Be my guest," she said, and we turned our attention toward Lavi as he twitched again and smiled.

"Lavi. I know you're not asleep. Give it up already." I said, annoyed. He sat up and smiled at us.

"You're right, Yu's hair _is _luscious." he said, and I laughed in spite of myself, then yawned.

"I'm so tired..." I said, and Ashley nodded. She covered the window with the curtain and curled into the corner of the bench, situating her skirt so that it covered her legs. '_Lucky, her skirt's long enough.' _I thought.

I curled up on my corner of the bench, pulling my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. "Night guys..." I said, and got whispered good nights, making me smile.

* * *

_I was confused as to where I was, but when the smoke around me cleared, I could tell that I was at the Order. "Allen?" I called, and the figure in front of me turned around. It was Allen. He was smiling one second and then, as if instead of a second an eternity had passed, he changed completely. I walked towards him to get a better view. His silvery eyes were filled with a hatred that I couldn't comprehend. His face was set in a bitter mask, and I watched as he turned and walked away from me. _

_"Allen," I called, "Allen, wait! Don't go!" I was running after him, and somehow I knew that he was leaving the Order for good. He abruptly turned to face me when I reached him, and he stared at me. The coldness in his eyes shocked me. "Allen...you can't leave." I said. _

_"Oh really?" He said, his voice dark, and menacing. "I'll do whatever I please from now on." Allen was smiling coolly at me, and then he disappeared. "Allen!"_

_"I'm not Allen anymore..." _

My eyes flew open and the sudden brightness coming from the window blinded me, so I closed my eyes again. Images from my confusing dream flashed through my mind. I kept trying to think about what it could've meant, but gave up when after a while my head started to hurt. After being awake for several minutes and not moving, I realized how indecent my position was.

I was spread across the bench, my head touching one of Ashley's legs. I had an arm laying across my forehead, and the other across my stomach. One of my legs was hanging off the bench, and the other was propped up. I knew I could have very well been giving Lavi a nice look at my underwear at that moment, and sat up quickly, then almost falling down again because of the dizziness from getting up too fast. I put a hand on my forehead and ran my fingers through my hair before turning to sit up right. I rubbed my eyes and stretched, wiggling my fingers in front of me, then opened my eyes again. The light made me squint and when my eyes adjusted I saw that Ashley was looking at me, her eyes droopy from sleep, and Lavi was smiling. _'Aw, great. He probably _did_ see my underwear...'_ I thought, and blushed slightly.

Ashley stretched out, then sighed. "Dallas, you hit me in your sleep." she said, bluntly. I laughed.

"Did I? I'm sorry..." I said, and thought of my dream. The dream scared me. Was it supposed to mean something? Allen would never act like that, ever. He just wasn't the type. I kind of drifted off into my own thoughts of what my dream could possibly mean, when my name being called pulled me back to reality. "I'm sorry, what?" I said, looking up.

"I said, are you hungry?" Lavi said, and my stomach growled.

"Uh, yes?" And then I realized that I was absolutely starving. "Yeah, I am." and when Lavi walked out of the cabin to get some food, I called a "Thank you!" to him.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Ashley asked.

"What? Oh...no, I just move a lot in my sleep. I'm sorry, you were like squished up against the wall because of me!" I said, and Ashley put up her hands, shaking her head.

"Oh no! It's okay, I wasn't too uncomfortable! I really didn't mind." Ashley reassured me, and I smiled.

Lavi came back in with four sandwiches piled up in his arms. I could feel my mouth start to water as the scent of french bread and ham blended together. _Mmm...I love me a good sandwich._

Lavi sat at his seat, gave Ashley and me a sandwich, then took the last two for himself. I looked at him enviously, eying that second sandwich he had in his hands. Then I turned my attention to the sandwich in my hands, unwrapping it from the paper and eating it in a few bites. I was still hungry after wards.

Lavi was in the middle of eating his first sandwich when I looked up at him and asked, "Hey Lavi? Can I have the other half of one of those?" I knew it was probably rude, but I was really hungry. He looked up.

"What?" He asked.

"I said, can I have a half of one of those." I repeated, pointing to his sandwiches. He stared at me in shock.

"You mean you've already finished yours?" He asked incredulously. I nodded and he stared at me, mouth slightly open.

"What? I was really hungry, okay? Gosh."

"I knew you liked to eat but I didn't think it was like _that_." I sucked in a breath and narrowed my eyes. _Trying to imply something, are we?_

"Are you trying to _imply_ something, Lavi?" I said, echoing my thoughts and growing angry.

"No, no! That's not what I meant," Lavi said, and he smiled that darned crooked smile. "I really didn't mean it that way, Dallas. I'm sorry." _Damn. Why does he have to be so hot and irresistible?_

I sniffed. "Apology accepted. Now can I please have half of your sandwich?"

"Sure." Lavi broke his sandwich in half and gave me the bigger piece, smiling at me. I smiled warmly at him. "Thanks." I ate my half of the sandwich and and settled in my seat, content that my stomach was at least somewhat filled.

* * *

The rest of the day was very, extremely uneventful. I read the whole entire packet of papers Komui gave us to read for a more detailed report on what exactly we had to do. By the time I was finished reading it, I knew everything there possibly was to know about our mission.

Apparently, there was a story spread around that near Stylida, Greece, by the coast of the Aegean Sea, there was buried treasure. Many have tried to find it, but all who have gone to search for it mysteriously disappeared. The Order looked into the incident, and sent some finders there to further investigate. One of the finders who was watching where the treasure hunters disappeared reported hurricanes and whirlpools that washed away or pulled in each explorer. The finders were fairly certain that it was innocence, and after showing the Order their report, it was confirmed that the so-called treasure had to be innocence. So, they called on us to retrieve it. They couldn't pin-point the exact location, but they scanned the area where the most energy was reported, and showed us the heat map. What strange technology the Order had...

So we knew the general area of where the innocence was. The only problem was that it was under water, and we had no bathing suits. _An excuse to go shopping...And to see Lavi shirtless. _I smiled to myself at the thought. Lavi's body was just so perfect. Allen's was extremely amazing too, but I had to admit that Lavi's, well, his was just..._sigh._

When we got to Stylida, we were to walk from the train station to the hotel, which I was glad to hear wasn't very far away from the station. After we spent the rest of the night in the hotel, we were to locate the spots closest to the innocence; where the hurricanes and whirlpools appeared, and retrieve it. We would most likely have to ask someone around the coast line to make sure of that, which I didn't mind.

After I had digested all of this new information, I felt as if I was going to puke from the jolting motions of the train as I read. When I finished reading the packet I had taken a nap, and when I woke up it was almost completely dark in the cabin. Ashley was asleep and Lavi was reading something that I couldn't see. I stretched a bit and yawned, then sighed.

"Oh, you're awake?" Lavi said, putting down whatever he was reading under his seat. I smiled.

"Obviously." I said, and leaned back, stretching my arms over my head. There was a moment of silence, though not uncomfortable, before Lavi brought up something I knew he would eventually.

"So...you lost your mother and sister on your birthday?" He asked. I know he didn't mean to be rude, and didn't mean to hurt me, but I felt a sharp pain in my heart as he brought up the subject. I swallowed.

"Yes." I nodded. "It was also the day I got my bracelets..." I looked down at my hands which were settled in my lap, and started fingering my beloved bracelets. I was thinking about the day, the images running through my head again, and I felt like I might cry. I bit my lip and blinked hard, not allowing the tears to fall. I closed my eyes and was about to give in to the wretched tears when I felt an unnatural warmth on my hands, unlike my innocence's warmth.

I opened my eyes and what I saw shocked me. Lavi's hand was covering both of mine in a warm gesture. I looked up from our hands to his face, and saw him smiling tenderly at me. "Hey, it's okay. You've got us now. I know it's hard to accept those kinds of things, but we'll help you get through it, okay?" I blinked. This was a whole new side to Lavi that I never knew before. This sweet, kind side of Lavi. I smiled at him and he squeezed my hands before taking his away. I wiped the tears from my eyes and sniffed, still smiling at Lavi.

"Thank you...Lavi." I said quietly.

"Hey, no problem. It's never nice to see a pretty girl like you crying." He said, still smiling. I blushed a bit and tucked in a lose strand of hair behind my ear.

Then my attention was brought to Ashley as she stirred, and her eyes fluttered open. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, before sitting up right. "What did I miss?" She asked, scratching her head and pulling her hair from her face. "And what time is it?" She added, before putting her long blond hair into a tight bun. I looked out the cabin and saw that it was still dark out, which meant I could get more sleep.

I shrugged and mumbled sleepily, "I dunno..." before curling up into a ball onto the seat. Lavi leaned his head on the back of the bench and Ashley curled up on her side of the bench also.

After a few minutes of silence I whispered, "Hey, Ashley."

"Hmm?"

"I'll try not to slap you this time." I said, and we chuckled softly.

* * *

I woke up energized and hyper for some reason. I had had a dreamless sleep, which actually relieved me. I didn't want to have any more confusing dreams about Allen, nor did I want to have that certain dream again. When I thought about the dream, I just got a bad feeling. I would feel skittish, anxious. I didn't know why this dream affected me so much, maybe I should've told someone about it. I guess I could tell Ashley later, but I didn't know what she would think. Maybe I was just being paranoid...

When Lavi got us breakfast, I ate it happily and quickly, and when there was nothing to do I was either tapping my foot, bouncing my leg, or jumping in my seat. I just couldn't sit still. At the moment I happened to be bouncing my leg, Lavi put his hand on my knee. I looked at him, "What?"

"Chill. You're freaking me out with the whole not-sitting-still thing." I stopped bouncing my leg and smiled.

"Sorry. I think I'm just anxious." I looked at Lavi's hand, expecting him to take it from my knee, but he left it there.

"I understand. First missions tend to be nerve-wracking." He said, smiling at me. He was teasing me, of course, by not moving his hand.

"Would you like to move your hand?" I said, and he raised his brow.

"Sure." He moved his hand up and down my leg, and I gave a short laugh.

"_Off _of my knee, Lavi." He took his hand from my knee, and smiled crookedly, winking at me. I rolled my eyes and sighed, smiling in spite of myself. _Oh, Lavi. Whatever am I going to do with you? _

A few more hours went by, and I had read Komui's packet twice. I thought that I had memorized everything we needed to do. Basically, we spent tonight at a hotel, tomorrow we would actually look for the innocence, and as soon as possible we would retrieve it. There. Simple, and clear. Though the hardest part would be getting the innocence itself.

It wasn't long before it started to get darker, and when I guessed it to be around five in the afternoon, I felt the train slow, and heard it's screeching noises. As the train was about to come to a stop, one of the attendants brought us our things and when the train finally stopped, I stood up, stretching.

"Finally," I said, and walked out of the train into the station. There were many people there. There was one girl who looked about my age with long blond hair and a slim figure that was looking hopefully toward the train's doors, going on tip-toe to look for someone. Then I saw recognition in her brown eyes as a taller boy with shortish light brown hair came out of the train, behind us.

"Tyler!" She said, running and jumping into his arms. He kissed the top of her head affectionately and put his arm around her shoulders. "I missed you so much," She said, holding onto his collar as he smiled lovingly at her.

"I missed you too, Haley. Come on, let's get going." The whole scene was nice to watch. Two people who loved each other deeply...the reunion was so sweet, I couldn't look away until they left the station.

"Dallas," Ashley said, poking my shoulder.

"Hmm?" I said.

"C'mon, we're going to the hotel now." She said.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_~Ashley~_

It felt so good to get off that train and finally be able to walk around. I enjoyed getting to know Dallas and Lavi better but being in that train for three days wasn't my idea of fun. _'At least it was better than the train ride with Kanda.' _I thought.

We were walking to the hotel when I noticed a banana peal lying on the ground. _'Okay,' _I thought, _'this is beginning to become ridiculous. How many banana peals am I going to slip on in my life time? They're following me!'_ I carefully walked around the banana peal, and a few seconds later I heard a scream. We quickly turned around only to see….

"Raikou what are you doing here?" Dallas and Lavi asked at the same time. Raikou had slipped on the banana peal I had just noticed and was sitting on the ground rubbing her head. Dallas and I glanced at each other with surprise displayed on our faces. I then walked over to Raikou and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She nodded her head 'yes' in response.

"What are you doing here?" Lavi asked again, "You should still be at the order."

"Well I heard that you guys were going on a mission and I hadn't been assigned any missions, so I was going to be lonely, and I thought that no one would miss me so I followed you here." When Raikou finished her explanation we all erupted into laughter.

"Raikou you're crazy!" Dallas said.

"What were you thinking?" I asked as I shook my head in utter disbelief. Raikou shrugged her shoulders.

"Well we better get to the hotel so we can figure out what to do with you." Lavi said smiling.

* * *

When we entered the hotel we walked up to the front desk and received a small brass key for our room from a slim man with a heavy black mustache and dark black eyes. I assumed he was the owner of the hotel. He told us that our room was the third door on the left and that if we needed anything don't hesitate to ask. The hotel was pretty plain and wasn't that big but it had a comfortable feel to it.

We were all too tired from the train ride to talk so we walked to our room in silence. It wasn't until we were standing at the door of our room that I realized we only had one room which meant we would be sharing a room with Lavi. I don't think Dallas or Raikou realized this until Lavi unlocked the door and we walked into the small square room and were greeted by two full sized beds.

"This is going to be problematic." I said when I caught sight of the beds.

Lavi walked over to one of the beds and sat his suit case on it. He then laid down on it with his hands behind his head and turned to look at us with that crooked smile of his glued to his face. "Sooo….Who wants to sleep with me?" He said as he winked at us.

I felt my face grow hot and I smiled in spite of myself. "Lavi what are we going to do with you?" I said as I shook my head side to side with disbelief. He didn't say anything; he just continued to smile crookedly. "How about this instead: we three girls will sleep in one bed and we can divide the room by hanging up a blanket when we need to change." I suggested.

"Okay but I am not sleeping in the middle." Dallas said, and something told me she wasn't kidding.

"I don't want to be in the middle either." Raikou added.

"Okay I'll sleep in the middle then." I said. I didn't really care where I slept as long as I would be able to sleep in a bed.

"Are you sure about that Ashley? You can still sleep with me." Lavi offered again.

"No, it's okay. I'm going to sleep in the middle. Sorry Lavi." I said my face growing hot again from embarrassment. Lavi's smile fell when I told him no and he looked so disappointed.

Once we put our suit cases away and were settled Lavi went in search of a phone to call Komui and tell him that Raikou was with us. Dallas, Raikou, and I were sitting on the bed together when Lavi left and I decided to ask "So tomorrow we're supposed to find the innocence and retrieve it right?"

Dallas nodded her head as she said "Yep, but I don't understand how exactly we're supposed to do that when the innocence is located under water. Shouldn't we need swim suits or something like that?"

"The innocence is underwater?" Raikou said, shocked.

"Yep, apparently it's been causing ships to disappear." Lavi explained to Raikou as he suddenly returned from his phone call with Komui. "And I think it would be a wonderful idea for you girls to get swim suits." Lavi said as he smiled that terribly crooked smile at us.

In response I shook my head in mock disbelief as I thought _'Good Lord, Lavi' _while Dallas rolled her eyes and said "Seriously Lavi?" as she laughed, and Raikou yelled "Lavi quit being such a perv!" He looked a little hurt by Raikou's comment but he quickly shook it off and returned to his usual smiling self.

"We might as well get some swim suits. I really need to get some new clothes anyway." I said as I sighed heavily.

"What do you mean?" Raikou asked her voice full of curiosity.

"Well I don't actually have any clothes apart from my exorcist uniform and my sari." I said with downcast eyes as everyone looked at me with shock filled eyes. I could feel my cheeks burn red.

"And why is that?" Raikou asked.

I moved around uncomfortably before saying "Well when I was in India I didn't have much money so I had to sell my old clothes and…." I trailed off not knowing what else to say.

"Oh…"Raikou said quietly.

Lavi glanced at the clock on the wall and said "Well if we're going to buy clothes and swim suits we better hurry it's getting late."

"Wait who said we were going to get swim suits?" Raikou lashed out at Lavi.

"Well Ashley needs some new clothes. Do you want her to have only two things to wear for the rest of her life? Also if we have to swim to get the innocence you either are going to have to wear swim suits or nothing at all." Lavi said cheerfully as he smiled. Raikou looked liked she wanted to hit Lavi. When no one said anything Lavi said "Great then that's settled. Let's go!"

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set on the streets of Greece bathing the white city in a golden glow as we left the hotel in search of bathing suits. A cool sea breeze blew gently through our hair and the smell of sea salt filled our noses.

The city was beautiful. A maze of buildings carved out of white marble that sat on the rocks overlooking the sea made up what was Greece and it took my breath away.

We passed many restaurants and food stands that sent all of our mouths watering. The food looked so good. All the fruits and vegetables were so bright and lush. When we passed the food stands and restaurants we finally found a store to buy swim suits. It had a bright blue stone roof and hanging out of the glassless windows were many elaborately decorated and brightly colored clothing. Inside the store we could see more clothes and what looked like swim suits.

As we walked into the white marble building we were greeted by a short, pleasantly plump, older woman. She had steel gray eyes and was wearing a bright blue and yellow dress and gold hoop earrings. She reminded me somewhat of a gypsy.

"Hello what is it you are looking for?" The woman said in a thick Greek accent.

"Oh hello," said Dallas, "we're looking for some bathing suits."

"Oh I see," she smiled, "the bathing suits are over there. Feel free to look around."

"Thank you," we all said to the woman as we entered her shop.

Dallas and Raikou went straight to the bathing suits and Lavi followed them while I stayed behind to look at the clothes. All of the bright colorful clothing was overwhelming. When I finished looking through most of the clothes I had selected two pairs of pants and two knee length skirts; one blue and white with gold dangly beads and the other black with silver moon beads. I had also grabbed two spaghetti strapped shirts one was white to go with the black skirt and the other was blue to go with the blue skirt. I also had picked out two shirts; one was decorated with stars, suns, and moons and the other was decorated with butterflies. The last things I picked out were two dresses and two night gowns. One dress was knee length, and sky blue with golden embroidery, the other was black and embroidered with silver, and it went down to my ankles. Both nightgowns were lacy; one was silver and the other was a light rose pink.

When I was satisfied with my clothing supply I walked over to where Dallas, Lavi, and Raikou were standing. Only to find Lavi holding up the skimpiest swim suit I had ever seen. It was a hot pink two piece and the top was strapless. "You should get this." He said with that stupid grin of his plastered to his face.

"What the…? No I am not going to wear that!" Dallas said as she hit Lavi on the chest, not too hard though. She did it almost playfully. I laughed at the scene. Lavi turned to look at me. "Will you get it Ashley." I laughed again in spite of myself before saying "No. Sorry, but I think I'll pass." He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could Raikou said "Put it away Lavi. Now!"

"You're no fun," Lavi said as he put the skimpy swim suit back.

"What all did you find, Ashley?" Dallas asked and I showed her the clothes I had grabbed. "Oh my God I want that butterfly shirt! You're going to have to let me borrow it!" I smiled as we all began to laugh.

"So do you know what swim suits you guys are getting?" I asked.

Raikou and Dallas shook their heads. "I'm debating between these two," Dallas said as she held up a lime green two piece decorated with pink hibiscus in one hand and a dark purple two piece embroidered with a pattern of gold in the other.

"I think you should get the green one," I said.

"Okay," Dallas said as she smiled, "So what are you going to get?" She asked me.

"Ummm…. I don't know. I like this one," I said pointing to a black two piece that was embroidered with silver spirals.

"Then get that one." Raikou said.

"Okay. So Raikou do you know what you want?" I asked her.

"Yeah I think I'm going to get this one." She held up a turquoise blue two piece that was embroidered with patterns of what looked like gold stars.

"That's really pretty," I said, "it'll look awesome with your pink hair." I said enthusiastically.

"Thanks," Raikou smiled cheerfully.

"Well if you girls are ready we better go. It's getting really late and I don't know about you but I'm tired." Lavi said.

"And I'm hungry," Dallas added.

"Me too," Raikou and I said at the same time.

"Okay hand me your clothes and I'll check out for you while you go and find something that we can take back to the hotel to eat. I'll just meet you back at the hotel later." Lavi said.

"Okay, see you later Lavi," I said with a smile before we left the shop.

When we stepped outside we were greeted by a dark star filled night sky and a silvery crescent moon. As soon as I saw the moon I couldn't take my eyes off it. It was so beautiful and looking at it gave me a sense of peace.

"I think I saw some food stands down there," Dallas said as she pointed to the left.

I reluctantly looked away from the moon to look down the street. "Then let's go," I said.

I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I saw the food. Ripe fruits, lush vegetables, and soft baked bread filled the shelves of the carts. Dallas had already started grabbing food. In her hands she had grapes, strawberries, and French bread.

"What do you think Lavi would want?" Dallas asked.

"Who cares about what he wants!" Raikou said making Dallas and I laugh.

I shrugged before saying, "I don't know. What you have already is fine. I honestly don't think Lavi cares about what he gets."

"Okay then we better get back to the hotel. Lavi's probably already there." Dallas said as she told the owner of the stand to send the bill to the address of the Black Order.

* * *

It was around eleven at night when we finally reached the hotel.

"We spent longer in that store than I thought we did." I said to no one in particular.

"I know I'm so tired." Dallas sighed. As we passed the front desk the owner of the hotel welcomed us back with a small smile before returning to his work.

"Does Lavi have the room key?" Raikou asked as we walked to our room.

"I think so." Dallas said. We were now standing in front of our room door. Raikou knocked on the door impatiently. A few seconds later the door opened only to reveal a brightly smiling Lavi.

"Hey, so what'd you get?" he asked.

"Grapes, strawberries, and French bread." Dallas answered as we walked into our room.

"Your clothes are over on the bed," Lavi said as he took a couple of grapes from Dallas.

"Thanks for bringing them," I said as I grabbed my soon to be filled suit case and walked over to my pile of clothes.

"No problem," he said as he flashed me a smile.

"So what did Komui say about Raikou being here?" Dallas asked. Raikou's head jerked up when she heard her name.

"He said," Lavi began, "that Raikou should just stay with us and that he was thankful she had been found. Apparently Raikou had the whole Order looking for her." We all turned to look at Raikou whose cheeks had begun to turn pink.

"Well it looks like they missed you after all, Raikou." Dallas said causing the hotel room to fill with sudden laughter.

Once we finally stopped laughing I got up to look for a blanket to divide the room with. I ended up finding one in the dresser. "Does anyone want to help me put it up so we can change into our pajamas?"

"I will," Lavi said, and together we successfully got the blanket up.

When we were about halfway changed Lavi impatiently asked "Can I look now?"

"No!" We all yelled back at him.

"Why not?" he whined.

"Oh my God Lavi grow up!" Raikou yelled although out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw her blushing.

"No," Lavi said plainly. I smiled at Raikou and Lavi's bickering.

When we finished changing we told Lavi that it was now okay to look. I was wearing the silver spaghetti strapped nightgown and was surprised to find that it was shorter than I expected it to be; the laced hem rested just a little bit above my knees. The fabric was shimmery and reminded me of the moon, which is one of the reasons why I got it. Dallas and Raikou's night gowns were really short too, so I didn't feel that self conscious about the length. Dallas's night gown was similar to mine except it was shorter and was made of silky pink fabric. Raikou's nightgown, on the other hand, was lime green and stopped about four inches above her knees. Her nightgown also had green ribbon that tied into a bow on the collar of her nightgown.

Once Lavi had pulled down the blanket he froze in place as he examined each one of us individually. When he finished he said "Nice choice ladies," which was soon followed by a wink.

I blushed and rolled my eyes before I took my hair out of its bun. My hair fell out in a mess of curls. As I shook my hair out Dallas said, "Whoo, Ashley!"

"What?" I said as I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

"Your hair looks as luscious as Yu's!" Lavi exclaimed with wide eyes. We all burst out laughing.

"Thanks, I think." I said still smiling.

Raikou yawned, "Hey I think we should go to bed now," she said sleepily.

"That's a good idea Raikou," Dallas said as she walked over to the bed. Raikou and I followed her. When we were finally situated I was in the middle, Dallas was laying to my left, and Raikou was to my right.

Before Raikou turned off the lights I glanced over at Lavi. He was lying comfortably in bed while we were cramped together like sardines in a can. I was trying to figure out how the heck this was fair. It wasn't. I sighed and rolled over onto my side. A few seconds later I heard, "I'm falling off the bed. Could you guys please move over a bit?" It was Dallas. In response Raikou and I moved over as far as we could without falling.

I could just picture Lavi's grin as he said "You sure you don't want to sleep with me Dallas? There's plenty of room."

"Well…Okay, sure." She replied. Shocked I turned my head to look at her although it was pointless to do so in the dark.

"Really?" Lavi asked clearly surprised and a little excited.

"No." Dallas said it so seriously that Raikou and I couldn't stop laughing. It got to the point that Lavi had to say "Okay stop laughing already it wasn't that funny!"

"Yes it was." I said which only caused us all to laugh harder. We were still faintly laughing when I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_~Raikou~_

I was sitting on the edge of what looked like a pool. I saw a distant figure taking a walk. I was on a campus. It was the same man I saw before, the one with brown hair and red eyes. I leaned forward to get a better look but found myself tumbling face first into the water.

I woke with a start. I was on the floor, it looked like I had fallen off the bed. Everyone else had already gotten dressed and ready.

"Oh, you're up Raikou. Since we're all awake we can go look for clues on the innocence, you should wear your bathing suit under your jacket just in case," said Ashley. I got changed and was soon ready for the mission. Lavi was already up and he was standing by the door. "Oh good morning, I see you lovely ladies are up," he said. Ashley and Dallas also greeted him but I just ignored him, not bothering to look at his face.

He opened the door for us and we filed out. We were soon out of the hotel and onto the streets of Greece. There was a stand sitting on the sidewalk that was selling crepes.

"Lets get crepes," I said, pointing out the stand. There weren't many people around so there was no line to wait in. Lavi knew a lot of languages and it was easy for him to communicate with locals. After listening to them talk for a while, he finally handed the man the currency and passed out our breakfast.

"What were you talking about...?" Dallas asked Lavi.

"I was asking him why no one was out," he replied, "Apparently the weather has been unpredictable lately. It hasn't been good to fisherman and a few towns near here have been destroyed. So most people are moving out. I also asked where we could rent a boat, we can go there after we eat." We finished up the crepes.

"So we're going into the storm..." I said worriedly.

"Ha ha exactly, but right now the weather seems to be perfectly fine," Lavi pointed out. He was right, the weather was wonderful. It was warm but not hot. "We should go ahead and rent the boat." Everyone agreed with him. He followed the man's directions and we soon were lead to a harbor that was half empty. Soon we spotted a small building with a sign the said, "Haley And Tyler's Boat Rent Out" There was what seemed to be a couple sitting at the window.

"Do you need any help?" a girl with blond hair asked, and I assumed she was Haley. I was surprised to hear that she was speaking English.

"We need a boat to investigate the storms," said Ashley.

"If one of my boats is ruined you'll have to pay for it, but do what you'd like. Another one of my customers was curious too. I'll have Tyler show you were the storms start if you're willing to pay extra," Haley stated her price which seemed like a rip off. Ashley let out a sigh.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice," She dropped the coins into Haley's hand.

As Tyler left I could hear a door close, and he reappeared in second.

"Well, lets get this show on the road...So why are you wanting to go on such a dangerous path?" he questioned us as we made our way to the harbor. We came to a small sail boat that could barely hold all of us.

"Ah...we write newspapers," Lavi said sheepishly.

"Oh so that's how it is," said Tyler. He set up the boat and motioned for us to come on. We were all huddled together on board and Tyler was steering. After about 15 minutes we stopped. The shore was a long ways away. "This is where the storms normally start up, a lot of ships have sunk right here. Well do what it is you need to do, I'm going to sleep. Tell me if there's a storm coming." He went inside the cabin and shut the door behind him.

"Heh well now that hes out of the way we can get to business," said Lavi. He stripped himself of his uniform and his headband leaving only a pair a black swimming trunks and his eye patch. I couldn't stop staring . "Ooh Raikou, what are ya looking at?" Asked Dallas.

"NOTHING!" I yelled angrily. Everyone turned around, looking surprised. I looked away. Apparently that took care of things and everyone else took their uniforms off too.

"My, my you do look quite fantastic in those bathing suits if I do say so myself ," Lavi said happily "Its to bad we can't play." Ashley and Dallas laughed about it. "Okay I might need help getting the innocence. Dallas I need your strength to break up the ships below to get the innocence...finding it won't be too hard. Ashley and Raikou...you can stay on the boat to make sure we come back okay. We can hold our breath 5minutes at most," We nodded "Ha ha, well then we're off." Lavi plunged into the water followed by Dallas.

After the ripples stopped it was quiet now and it didn't look like any storm was about to start...I guessed we were lucky. I heard a slash behind me and then a pain in my back as I had the breath knocked out of me. I crumpled to the deck trying to see what had just hit me. A giant akuma was out in the water...it seemed to appear out of now where. It had eight long tentacles that it used to pull the boat to it. Ashley was trying to slash off a tentacle that was taunting her. She successfully chopped it off. In the monster's out rage, another arm came straight at her wrapping itself around her waist and throwing her off the boat and into the water.

"Ashley!" I yelled but I got no response. I had recovered and was looking straight at the akuma. It was a big, gray, ugly looking octopus. The akuma had not hit any exposed skin so I didn't get the virus. I back away from it like a frightened animal, my stomach beginning to churn. This could be it for me.

I then heard a sound past my ear. I turned to see Lavi holding Ashley while on his hammer and Dallas sitting at the front. Dallas jumped off the hammer straight into the monster, a beam of light shot from her hand and within seconds the monster ceased to exist.

* * *

We had successfully recovered the innocence and turned it into Komui's office. Since our first mission was complete, Komui had told us to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat. When we got there we were surprised to find most everyone waiting for us. "Congratulations on completing your first mission!" they said in unison. It looked like they had set up a party for us.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_~Dallas~_

I stared at everyone in the cafeteria, mouth open, eyes wide, feet rooted to their spot. And then the smell of food hit me. I was back to myself, and I smiled, blushing a bit at the crowd of people staring at us. "Thank you..." I mumbled. After that everyone started talking, eating, drinking, and basically doing whatever.

I heard Lavi shout, "Hey Krorykins!" and he ran through the crowd to get to Krory. I laughed at his childish behavior, then spotted a familiar face. I told Raikou and Ashley to come on before I walked over to Allen, who was smiling at us.

"Allen, I didn't know you were back from your mission," I said.

"We just got back from the mission," he said, smiling, though something was off about his smile.

"Whats wrong?" I asked. Allen looked towards the back of the room with an evil expression upon his face. We all followed his gaze to see that he was staring daggers at Kanda, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed tightly across his chest, and his expression as cold and uncaring as ever.

"Oh, nothing." he said, answering my question. I was a little creeped out by Allen's tone and expression, but shook it off. I was about to say something else when I heard many low gasps around the room. We turned around to see a man with long red hair and a goatee, with a mask covering his right eye. He wore an exorcist's coat, though instead of the buttons and lining being silver, they were gold. His mask had one glasses lens attached for his other eye.

"Who's...that...?" Raikou, Ashley, and I murmured all at once. I was intrigued by the amount of attention this man got from everyone in the room. He seemed to have an air of mystery, and he also seemed like the type who got whatever he wanted when he wanted it.

"M-master?" Allen exclaimed, shock apparent on his face, and the man turned his attention toward our little group. Me, Raikou, and Ashley stood up a little straighter as he stared at us, then walked over to where we stood.

"Well," the man said, his voice deep and smooth and oh so charming. "Who do we have here? I don't believe I've had the honor of meeting you lovely ladies. I'm General Cross. But you may call me Cross." He winked at us, which caused us to erupt into giggles. Then he gently took my hand and layed soft kisses upon it.

"And what may I call you, fine young lady?" He asked, staring into my eyes, causing me to blush and stutter for my words. I looked at Allen who's face was turning pinkish as he stared at Cross and I.

"D-D-Dallas," I stuttered, and then looked over at Ashley and Raikou, who were staring at me with envy in their eyes.

"What a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl," He said before kissing my hand again and doing the same to Raikou and Ashley. After our introductions Cross said, "Would you ladies like a drink?" We all nodded our heads eagerly, saying different 'yes' 's in response. He nodded before disappearing in the crowd of people.

Raikou, Ashley, and I huddled together, squealing in delight. "Oh my God he is so charming!" Ashley said, and I quickly agreed.

"Oh I know. He was so gentle too!" I said, smiling and giggling.

"He is SO hot!" Raikou said, and we all giggled hysterically.

Cross came back holding four wine glasses. He gave a glass to each of us and kept one for himself. I knew it was alcohol by the smell, but I didn't think twice about drinking it. I brought the glass to my lips and savored the sweet yet slightly bitter taste of red wine that washed over my mouth. I knew if I didn't drink it responsibly that I would get drunk, but it was so good I couldn't help myself. It seemed as though Raikou and Ashley felt the same way, we kept taking small methodical sips.

Then my attention was brought to Ashley as Cross motioned for her to go with him. She followed him after a while and me and Raikou stared after her. "She's sooo lucky!" we said at the exact same time.

* * *

_~Ashley~_

Everything was a blur of color and sound. The room seemed to spin around me and my head felt heavy and clouded. _'I'm drunk' _I thought as I giggled.

I followed Cross, barely paying attention to my surroundings, and when he stopped walking it took me a second to realize that he had led me to the kitchen.

"Why are we here," I asked in between giggles. I felt so high, like I was in another world

"You'll see," Cross said mysteriously, before grabbing my wrist and gently pulling me closer to him. Everything felt like a dream, cloudy and unclear. Cross then pulled my face up to look at him, and tucked a strand of my blond hair behind my ear, his hand caressing my face. He leaned his face closer to mine, "Your eyes are so beautiful. They're like the color of the sky." His words sent my heart fluttering and as he leaned in closer I could smell the scent of cigarettes and alcohol on his breath. I felt his arms wrap around me as he drew me closer to him and it wasn't long before I felt his lips on mine. I was too high to think any coherent thoughts and so I played right along and wrapped my arms around his neck. He tasted like cigarettes and alcohol, a taste that tasted dangerous.

I heard the sound of a metal pan clanging as it fell to the floor, but I didn't think anything of it. My mind was too preoccupied with other things to think about a falling pan. A few seconds later I heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and then a whole bunch of gasps.

"Master, that's illegal!" I think it was Allen who said that. Slowly I turned my head and saw Allen, Komui, and Jerry with their mouths wide open and eyes wide with shock. Komui was on his knees and he had both his hands on either side of his face, mouth agape.

"Well that was fun while it lasted," I barely heard Cross mumble as he let me go and walked casually off. Komui, Allen, and Jerry were all too shocked to say anything as Cross walked off. I just stared after him, confused. I tried to walk away but I was only able to take two staggering steps before I fell against the wall.

"Ashley, are you drunk?" I heard Komui ask me and it sounded like he was far away. I put my head in the hand I wasn't using to hold on to the wall.

"I don't know," was all I was able to say although it came out all slurred together.

"Yeah she's definitely drunk," Jerry said.

"Where'd she get the alcohol though?" I heard Komui ask.

"I have no doubt that it was my master," said Allen. He sounded angry, and like there was a heavy weight on his shoulders.

I heard the sound of something scraping the floor, and then Allen saying, "Ashley, sit down for a second." I felt Allen grab my hand and he gently guided me over to the chair and I sat down. "Thank you," I mumbled before putting my head in my hands again to stop the room from spinning around me.

"We'd better find Cross before he does something to any of the other girls. I saw him looking at Raikou and Dallas and something tells me Ashley wasn't the only one he gave alcohol to." Allen said, his voice heavy with disdain.

"Right, lets go," Komui said.

"Ashley stay here for a second," Jerry told me before they all walked off. I had no objections to moving. My head was beginning to hurt and if I even tried to walk around I knew that I would probably wind up on the floor. But for some reason despite all of those things I just couldn't stop giggling.

* * *

_~Raikou~_

I went to the table with all the party food and drinks. I was going to refill my glass with wine. I never had had wine before and was excited I had the opportunity to be drinking it. After two cups I was starting to feel a little funny. My vision was a bit off and I was feeling very carefree. I had a couple more glasses and everything started to look fuzzy. I started losing count of how much I was drinking. It was really good for box wine not that I could compare. I turned my head to see Johnny filling his plate with party favors. I set my glass down and came to the back of him tapping him on the shoulder.

He turned around to face me.

"Oh Raikou congra-"

I grabbed him in a bear hug .

"Johnney I loove you" I released him from the hug but kept him at eye level. I slipped off his glasses "I really like this outfit you gave me," I said, slurring.

"Um...Raikou, are you okay?" he asked, trying to shake me off "And give me back my glasses!"

"uh uh uh," I said, shaking my finger at him and keeping his glasses out of reach. Just then I saw Krory out of the corner of my eye, and Allen, Komui, and Jerry go into the kitchen.

"Ahh Krory save me! I don't know what got into her," Johny yelled to Krory as he shoved my face away from his.

"Mff Johnnnny whats wrong?" I said, pouting but I felt a hand grab the hood of my jacket yanking me from Johnny. I dropped his glasses and he went to pick them up.

I looked up to see Krory staring down out me.

"Oooh oh sexy vampire," I said, grabbing his face. "Show me your teeth boy,"

"Excuse me?" He was starting to look nervous.

"I'm so happy I could die," I said happily.

"Are you okay Raikou?"

"I'm fiiiiine" I said and fell to the floor giggling quietly to myself.

I searched for another victim and saw Lenalee. She looked like she wanted to follow Allen into the kitchen.

"Woooow Lenalee your hair is so lonng" I said, tugging on it "It's too bad it's going to get chopped off"

"What?" she asked.

"Haha nothing, and your skirt is soo short... almost as short as Dallas's!" I yelled, waving to Dallas.

"Yep!" she answered. Then I saw Yu sitting by his lonesome.

* * *

_~Dallas~_

"Yep!" I shouted across the room at Raikou, holding my glass that I had just refilled with more wine up and letting the dark red liquid slosh around. Everything seemed to be a blur around me, as if I was moving in slow motion. I felt detached from my body, like I was there, but I wasn't there. I couldn't stop giggling and then I noticed Cross staring at me from a few feet away. I giggled again and took a swig from the glass as he came over to me.

"Follow me," He said, his voice so deep and silky. I felt like I would melt when he took my hand and led me to a corner of the cafeteria.

"Cross...?" I said in between giggles, and he chuckled.

"Your laugh is so cute," he said, and my giggles stopped as I stared at him. He lifted my chin with his hand and I stared, eyes wide at him. "How old are you?" he asked. I had to think for a second.

"I'm fourteen," I said, the words a bit slurred though it seemed as if he could understand me.

"Only fourteen? You don't look that young. You look like a beautiful grown lady if I do say so myself," He said, making my heart flutter. "I think you're much more attractive than those other two girls. And you seem to have a fire about you. I like that." I giggled at his flattering words and before I knew it his arms wrapped around my waist and his lips were on mine. I wasn't thinking very clearly, my mind had gone fuzzy, and I forgot whom I was even with as I closed my eyes and went a long with the kiss. I wrapped my arms around whoever-I-was-kissing's neck and was having fun with it until I heard some shocked gasps nearby.

My eyes flew open and I realized that I had been kissing Cross. I turned my head to see Jerry, Komui, and Allen staring at me and Cross, mouths agape. Allen's face was drained of all color as he said angrily, "Master what are you doing? Get away from Dallas!"

"Not again..." Cross said, sighing heavily as he let go of me, and disappeared into the crowd. I pouted and tried to follow him, but stumbled, falling on my butt. "Owwww..." I mumbled.

"Allen, carry Dallas. She can barely walk." Komui said, and I didn't even attempt to get up but stayed sitting on the floor. I felt myself being lifted and opened my eyes, raising my arms.

"Wheeee!" I exclaimed, and heard a chuckle. I looked up and saw that Allen was the one holding me. Then my attention was brought to the center of the room as I heard many shocked gasps.

* * *

_~Raikou~_

I stumbled over to Kanda. "Heeey Kanda what are ya doing?" I said, hiccuping in between sentences.

"None of your business, now shoo" He stated coldly.

"I don't want too" I said. I grabbed Mudgen and backed away. "MUDGEN UNSHHHEAATH!" I yelled, mimicking Kanda's deep voice and running my fingers over the sword.

"You little brat, give me back my sword! I have no time to play with you!" He got up, taking hold of my wrist.

"Ohhh Yu, grip it harder" I said, blushing.

"Ah," He released my hand in disgust.

"Haha you cant catch me," I giggled, running away. I wasn't looking and ran into somebody. I dropped Mudgen and saw Cross in front of me.

"Ladies shouldn't run with swords...it's dangerous," he lifted my chin slightly "What would I have done if it cut a strand of your wonderful pink locks," he ran his fingers through my hair, undoing the pigtails.

"N-no one's ever complimented my hair..." I looked at him with lustful eyes. I pulled him closer to me. I grabbed the back of his head and wrapped one of my legs around his. I pulled his face to mine and pressed my lips to his.

"Ahhh Raikou don't eat Cross!" I heard Dallas shout from somewhere in the distance.

I suddenly felt dizzy and everything turned black.

* * *

_~Ashley~_

I jerked my head as I saw Jerry, Komui, Allen, and Lavi enter the kitchen. As they moved closer to where I sat I could see that in Lavi's arms was a passed out Raikou, and in Allen's was a loopy Dallas.

"Allen are you Santa Claus, cause you hair's so white," Dallas said as she pulled on his hair and giggled hysterically.

I giggled along with Dallas before pointing at Allen's hair and saying, "Your hair really is white, Allen."

"They really are completely wasted," Lavi said.

"It would seem so," Komui sighed before poking his head out of the kitchen door, "Kanda come here," Komui called.

While we were waiting for Kanda, Dallas had begun to loosen Allen's buttons on his clothes. Allen laughed nervously before putting his hand over hers to stop her from completely undressing him. Lavi was laughing hysterically at the scene.

A few seconds later Kanda appeared, "What is it?"

"I want you three to carry the girls to their rooms. Kanda I need you to take Ashley to hers." I abruptly stopped laughing and looked up at Kanda who was looking at me. Both of us wore the same expression of hate on our faces.

"I don't need anybody to carry me! Especially not Kanda!" I yelled before I stood up and tried to walk. The room spun around me and the next thing I knew I had fallen into Kanda's arms. I closed my eyes and held on tighter to Kanda to stop the room from spinning.

"Do I have to carry her?" Kanda asked, clearly annoyed.

"Yes," Komui said plainly.

Wordlessly, Kanda put one of his arms under my legs and lifted me up. "Fine," I heard him say as he walked out of the room with me in his arms.

I rested my head against his shoulder and unconsciously cuddled up against his chest. Surprisingly he didn't tense up like I expected him to. It wasn't long until I soon fell asleep to the rhythmic feel of Kanda's footsteps.

The next thing I remembered, as if through a dream, was the sound of a door creaking open and then being placed onto something soft. A blanket was silently placed over me and then I heard the sound of the door shutting before I once more drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_~Dallas~_

As Allen brought me out of the kitchen I flailed my arm about, "Byyyyyeeeee!" I shouted and got chuckles in response. When we made it out of the now empty cafeteria I stared at Allen. I felt really, really high. And loopy. And I still had that same, detached feeling like before. My head was still cloudy, too. I leaned my head back so that it lolled up and down with each step Allen took. "uuuughhhhhh..." I mumbled and lifted my head the slightest.

"I can see up your nose Aaaaalllleeeennn!" exclaimed, giggling like a three year old. Allen looked down at me and smiled. I pulled my head back up and closed my eyes tightly at the falling sensation I felt when I pulled my head up like that, stretching my arms out to cling to Allen's coat. I pulled myself closer to him and stared into his gray eyes, before touching a hand to his unique scar.

My finger's traced the pentacle above his eye and he closed his eye as I went down the line to trace the rest of it. "Allen, your scar is so sexy..." I said, and giggled again.

Allen smiled at me, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Why thank you," he said politely, which caused me to giggle again. Allen carefully opened my bedroom door and walked over to my bed, plopping me down onto it. I giggled as Allen pulled the covers over me and turned to leave.

"Allen! Don't leave yet!" I said, and pulled him closer. He hesitated, but came anyway.

"Y-yes?" he asked quietly. I sat up on my bed, pushing the covers aside and ignoring the dizzy feeling as I pulled Allen closer, before unbuttoning his buttons. "Dallas?" He asked as I slipped off his coat.

"Shh." I said stubbornly, and tried to take off his shirt, fumbling with the buttons.

"Dallas, Dallas stop, you don't know what you're doing." He said softly, catching my hands before I could undo the first button. I pouted.

"I know exactly what I'm doing!" I said defiantly, trying to undo the buttons on his shirt again. He caught my hands in his once more.

"Dallas, stop. You must be tired, you should go to sleep." He said, pushing me back gently, and I plopped down onto the pillows.

"I'm not tired..." I mumbled before yawning hugely. He chuckled before picking his coat up from the floor.

"You look like you're tired." He said, and I mumbled incoherently. He pulled the covers over me again and I snuggled under the blankets.

I heard his footsteps retreat and before he left, I spoke. "Night Aaaalleeeeen!" I said, and he laughed.

"Good night." He replied.

* * *

_~Raikou~_

I woke to Lavi holding me in his arms. It felt good to be so close to him. I felt myself being laid into bed and tucked in. Then I heard foot steps walking away.

"wait," I called, still slurring. Lavi turned around to face me.

"You think I'm sexy don't you," I pointed at him. He shook his head with disbelief.

"Sweet dreams Raikou," and he was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_~Dallas~_

A dull pain was throbbing in the back of my head, and my vision took longer than it should have to adjust to the light shining through the small window. I panicked at first, not knowing where I was, till I realized I was in my room. I sat up slowly, rubbing my head and stretching. I didn't remember what had happened last night. I didn't remember the whole day, actually. I heard a knock on my door and got up sleepily, brushing my hair along the way and opened it. Ashley and Raikou were standing there, looking dog tired. "Hey," Ashley said, and I sighed.

"Good morning..." I mumbled, and we walked almost zombie-like towards the cafeteria. When we were half way there, I broke the silence that seemed to be so loud. "Are you guys even hungry?" I asked, and they both shook their heads 'no'. "Well I'm not either...um, do you guys remember what happened yesterday?" They looked at me with shock displayed on their faces. "What?" I asked.

"You're not hungry?" Raikou exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Why aren't you hungry? Is something wrong?" Ashley asked, and I sighed in annoyance.

"No, I'm not hungry, and yes, there is something wrong. Guys, this is really bad. I can't remember anything past our mission! What if the innocence never made it to Komui?" I didn't wait for them to reply and started for Komui's office. This wasn't good. What had happened? I wracked my brain, trying with all my might to remember until it felt like my head was going to explode. Everything from yesterday or whenever it was we had gone on our mission was covered with a dense cloud in my mind. I turned a sharp corner with Raikou and Ashley on my heels, until we finally made it to that terribly messy office. Komui was face down on his desk, sleeping heavily. A man from the science department was in Komui's office, placing papers on the already messy desk. He didn't seem to notice when we walked in.

"Uh...excuse us." I said, and the man looked up. He had heavy bags under his eyes and messy, sandy colored hair. I saw recognition flash in his eyes when he saw us.

As he walked towards us he said, "Ah...Hi, girls. I'm sorry, you haven't met me before. I'm Reever, head of the science department. Was there something you needed...?" We shook his hand and introduced ourselves.

"We really need to talk to Komui. Though since he's unavailable, I guess it could wait..." Ashley said, and Reever shook his head.

"No, he can talk. Hold on a second," We followed Reever to Komui's desk and watched curiously as he whispered into Komui's ear, "Chief, I hear Lenalee's getting married."

Everything happened all at once. Komui jumped from his seat and screamed like a mad man, falling to his knees. We jumped back as he shouted, "_Lenaleeeeee!_ My Lenalee! How could you get married without telling your loving brother?" We stared open-mouthed at him for a second before he jumped to his feet, acting like that was completely normal. He cleared his throat and when he realized we were in the room he went on talking as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, hello girls. Did you get a nice rest? All of you slept for a whole day." My jaw dropped. '_A whole day?_' I thought, appalled.

"We slept for a whole _day?_"Me, Raikou, and Ashley all said at once. Komui nodded and pushed his glasses up with his index finger.

"Komui, We don't remember anything that happened. You got the innocence from our mission, right?" I asked. He nodded again. "Okay good..." I was silent for a moment before I gasped, and everyone looked at me. I had just remembered something that happened on the train ride to Greece. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "Komui...Can we call you Komaoi?" I asked, and Ashley and I looked at each other before we burst out laughing, clutching our stomachs. Everyone looked confused and I laughed harder. Komui gave us a funny look.

"Why, may I ask?" He said, and he looked at me like I was crazy.

"Well, when we were on the train to Greece Ashley called you Komaoi instead of Komui on accident and we thought it'd be funny to call you that. Like a nickname!" I said, still laughing softly. Komui laughed, and I smiled.

"Sure, you can call me that. Oh! And I almost forgot. The things you ordered came in, and I have the paint right here," He brought out three gallons of different colored paint from under his desk and gave each of us the colors we wanted. He also handed us some rollers and trays to put the paint in. We all said thank you's to him and walked out of his office.

As we walked out, I was thinking. "Hey guys, can we paint my room first?" I asked.

"Oh, sure!" Ashley said, and Raikou agreed. I smiled.

"Thanks. Why don't we just put the paint in your room, Ashley. And we can paint your room next since it's closest." They nodded and on our way to my room we spotted Lavi and Allen talking outside of Allen's door. As we approached they turned to look at us. Lavi was smiling mischievously, which made me worry about what he was up to.

"Hey Dallas," he said, "you come back to finish undressing Allen?" I looked at him, confused and slightly embarrassed. Allen subtly nudged Lavi's side and mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"What are you talking-" My words cut off as a huge flood of memories came crashing down on me. I remembered every detail from the second we got back from the mission. The party, meeting General Cross, getting drunk..._oh shit. _"Oh my God." I said, my face turning bright red as I stared at Lavi, remembering all of the things that I had said and done when I was drunk. He laughed at my reaction, and that pissed me off. I felt like I just wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out. I was about to say something, anything, when Ashley cut in.

"Hey guys, you want to help us paint Dallas's room?" I silently thanked Ashley for an attempt to change the subject, but it didn't change the obvious awkwardness in the air. I couldn't even look at Allen.

Lavi laughed again and said, "Sure." and we put Raikou and Ashley's paint in Ashley's room before walking into mine. When I opened the door I sighed, and put down the paint. I had no furniture besides the bed in my room, so that was the only thing that needed to be moved.

"Lavi, could you and Allen move my bed away from the wall?" They nodded and did that while I tried to pry open the paint can unsuccessfully. I didn't notice they were done moving the bed until Lavi came behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder. As he pried open the can from behind me he whispered in my ear, "Hey Dallas, since Allen looks like Santa, do you want him to come down your chimney instead?"

I blushed again and stood up. "Oh my God! Seriously, Lavi? I was drunk! Get over it!" I shouted in my embarrassment, and everyone turned to look at me.

"Dallas is right, she wasn't the only one who got drunk." Ashley said.

"Yeah, she wasn't the only one who did crazy things, either!" Raikou said and I smiled at both of them, thankful. Then I remembered all that Raikou did and burst out laughing. Ashley joined in and Raikou's cheeks turned pink. "Hey. You can't do that to me after I stood up for you!" she said, smiling through her embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I said, laughing softly. I cleared my throat and poured the paint into the tray, grabbing a roller. I turned to everyone, and actually looked at Allen for the first time. "You guys ready to paint?" I asked, smiling wide.

* * *

It wasn't long till we were almost done with painting my room that deep purple color I loved. Though I was starting to feel funny. I felt more and more lightheaded with every breath I took. Maybe it had something to do with the paint fumes, but I was starting to feel really high. I was so short that I had to stand on a chair to get higher up on the wall, and as I was doing that, Allen painted next to me.

"So," he said, "My scar is sexy, is it?" I turned to look at him, slightly shocked and embarrassed, my face turning pink at his words. I stuttered for something to say, but ended up mumbling something even I myself didn't understand. Allen laughed, and I turned away from him, hiding my face. Then I looked around, away from Allen and realized that we were done with my room.

I jumped down from the chair and stood in the middle of the room, placing my hands on my hips and examining our work. I nodded approvingly and smiled. "Thanks for helping me, guys. I love it! Who knew you could paint, Lavi?" I said, teasingly.

"There are a lot of things I can do," He said, and winked at me. I laughed.

"Okay...now we need to get Ashley's room done." I said, and walked out of the room, content as fresher air filled my lungs.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_~Ashley~_

I opened my door and turned on the lights. "Okay, so I guess the first thing we need to do is move everything away from the walls." I said as I walked toward my bed. With the help of Allen and Lavi it only took a few seconds to move the bureau, bed and night stand away from the walls. We then opened up the can of cotton candy blue paint, dipped our rollers in it and began the tedious process of painting the walls. As I rolled the paint onto one of my walls I soon became lost in the rhythmic motion of moving the roller up and down, up and down, and my mind seemed to wander off. I wound up thinking about what happened two nights ago. God, I still couldn't believe it was two nights ago. Was it really possible to sleep a whole day? I still couldn't grasp the fact that we had let Cross get us drunk, much less let him kiss us. I couldn't shake off the amount of disgust I felt towards both him and myself. I swear that if I ever see that man again he will regret ever having played us like he did that night. But despite the amount of anger I felt toward Cross I still couldn't help but think about how charming he was. Man, what the heck was wrong with me?

I was brought back to reality when I heard Allen yell, "Lavi what are you doing!" and then soon after I felt something wet and sticky roll down back. I swiftly turned around and saw no other than Lavi standing behind me with a roller in his hand and a crooked grin on his face. _'Oh no he didn't,' _I thought. I looked behind my shoulder to see that my back was completely covered in blue paint.

The shock and anger on my face quickly melted into a smile of malice. "You shouldn't have done that Lavi," I said ominously. Dallas and Raikou both looked like they were shocked but at the same time they were smiling and laughing at the scene that was unfolding before them.

"Really and why's that," He said still smiling. I continued to smile back at him before I dipped my hand into my pan of paint and flung blue paint in Lavi's direction. He ducked before it could hit him causing the paint to hit Dallas on the shoulder. She immediately stopped laughing. Shocked I stood stock still with my hand over my mouth and eyes wide. " Dallas I didn't-" I tried to say but Dallas cut me off as she yelled, "You did _not_ just do that!" and moved toward her pan of paint and flung blue paint at me. I dodged it and it ended up landing in Allen's snowy white hair. Now it was Dallas's turn to be sorry. The room soon erupted into a blur of flying blue paint.

As the paint went flying through the air I watched out of the corner of my eye as Raikou ran to one of the corners of the room and huddled up there in order to escape the war of paint. I was still trying to get Lavi back for getting paint on my uniform and eventually gave up on trying to throw paint on him and instead decided it would be easier to just chase Lavi around the room with paint on my hands. I had Lavi cornered and just as I was about to smear paint on his uniform when he said "You're very forceful, Ashley. I like that." Both shocked and embarrassed by Lavi's words I froze in place, and Lavi smiling triumphantly walked away. As he passed me he stopped and leaned over to whisper in my ear, "You know that the paint will wash out of our uniforms. The fabric doesn't stain easily." My mouthed dropped.

"Are you serious!" I yelled at him, "Why didn't you say something before?"

Dallas and Allen stopped throwing paint at each other to look at me and Lavi. "What's wrong Ashley?" Dallas asked.

"Lavi just told me that the paint will come out of our uniforms." I replied, my voice full of irritation.

"Seriously?" Dallas exclaimed.

Lavi laughed at my irritation with him, "Well if I would of told you before than we would never of had the chance to fight with paint."

I laughed in spite of my annoyance with Lavi. "You're right Lavi. Fighting with paint is a lot of fun." I smiled as Dallas, Raikou, and Allen all laughed. Everyone was covered in blue paint, even Raikou who had tried so hard to avoid the fight. Allen had paint all in his hair and Dallas had paint on her uniform and face, I could only imagine what I looked like. The only one who wasn't completely covered in paint was Lavi.

I looked down at my floor and noticed that a couple of places had paint splatters on it. _'Oh well,'_ I thought, _'It adds more color to the room.' _I smiled at the thought. "Hey guys we still have to paint Raikou's room, so we might as well get back to painting my room." I said, and everyone agreed.

We didn't have that much more to paint, and it wasn't long until we were finally done. When we finished, my room looked like a totally new room. The blue paint was so relaxing. I loved it. "Thank you for helping me guys," I said and received a chorus of 'your welcome' in response.

"Hey before we go paint Raikou's room can we check the paint in my room and see if it's dry enough to move in the furniture and other stuff I ordered?" Dallas asked.

"Sure," we all replied.

* * *

When we walked into Dallas's room the smell of paint was still pretty strong, but when we touched the walls to see if they were dry we were surprised to find that they were.

"Wow, this is some really fast drying paint," commented Raikou.

Once we discovered that the paint was dry we went on a search for Komui to ask him where the rest of our stuff was. We ended up finding him in his messy office. He told us where our stuff was and after thanking him we went to collect Dallas's furniture. It took three trips to move all of her stuff into her room, and once everything was placed where she wanted it, she had a completely new room.

Dallas now had a dark brown desk sitting in the corner of her room that was nearest to her rainbow stained glass window, a dark brown dresser rested against the wall by the door, her bed was covered in pillows of all different colors and sizes, and her bedspread had a paisley pattern on it that consisted of pink, green, purple, blue, and white, also about halfway under her bed was a turquoise rug that covered the center of the room. On this rug were giant lime green, hot pink, purple, and turquoise pillows the size of bean bags, the only difference was that they were pillows. I was amazed by the transformation Dallas's room had undergone. It had changed from a dark dreary room to a fun, happy, bubbly room. I could tell by the look on Dallas's face that she was extremely pleased by this change.

"Wow this is amazing guys! Thanks so much for helping!" Dallas said, and we all smiled in response.

"So I guess we should move on to Raikou's room." Allen said.

"But I'm sooo tired," Lavi complained, causing us all to laugh.

"Lavi we're all tired," I said.

"Yeah so come on," added Dallas as we walked out of her room and headed toward Raikou's.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_~Raikou~_

We made it into my room. The supplies were already inside the room. There was black paint and sitting next to it were panda stencils.

"Pandas?" Lavi asked, "It reminds me of someone."

"I think it'll be cute." Ashley said.

We were all pretty tired and there wasn't much talking as we worked. Soon all the paint was finished. I had four large pandas on each wall, each having its own unique characteristic. Lavi and Allen helped move the furniture around and my room was done. I had a bed of course, panda themed sheets and pillows. I had prints with pandas, seats, and even lamps, my wardrobe also consisted of pandas although I was wearing my finder coat.

Lavi seemed to be disturbed and left the room. I looked around the room satisfied.

"Thanks for your help everyone," I said. They nodded but looked sapped of energy. Lavi came back.

"Have you seen Dallas?" we all looked around realizing she wasn't there.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_~Dallas~_

I was lost. I was totally, utterly lost. '_Well...dammit.' _I thought as I walked down yet another deserted hallway. What was with this place? It was too big! All I wanted to do was find my room, and I ended up hopelessly lost in the Black Order. '_I'll probably starve to death. I'll probably spend the rest of my life lost.' _I thought, then shook my head and mumbled to myself, "No, no, no! You're going to find someone, Dallas. It's okay. Calm down." I stopped talking when I realized that I was actually speaking to myself. I was panicking. Big time. "Ugh!" I shouted, and turned down another hall. I stopped dead in my tracks.

This hall was unlike the others. It's doors were metal, and it had barely any light at all. I could barely see the stains on the door that were either blood or red paint. I hoped it was red paint. This was definitely not where my room was, but the hall piqued my curiosity. I walked further into it, went to the first door I could see, and tried to open it. It wouldn't budge. I tried harder. Again, it wouldn't budge. This door was pissing me off. I wanted to see what was so secret behind that locked door. I activated my innocence and placed my hands firmly on the handle, then pulled with all my might, just in case. The door came right off it's hinges, and I looked both ways before placing the door down gently and peering into the darkened room. What I saw freaked me out to say the least.

It looked like a science lab, with a giant operating table that had a variety of jars and glass holders on it which all contained many different glowing liquids. But that wasn't the part that scared me the most. There were two giant robots that looked as if they were destroyed, but put back together with duct tape. And it also looked as if another one like the others was being built. Each robot had a stylish white beret atop it's head much like Komui's. I was a little disturbed by the contents of the room, but I was so curious as to what these experiments were. Just as I was about to step into the room, I heard my name being called.

"Dallas? Is that you?" I looked back out into the lit hallway to find Johnny standing there.

"Yes, it's me..." I said, putting the door back in it's place and walking from the creepy hallway. I deactivated my innocence.

"Were you lost?" He asked, and I nodded sheepishly.

"Yes...I was looking for my room when I saw that hall, and I wanted to see what was in it, so..." I trailed off, scratching the back of my head.

"I think it'd be best for you not to go into that hall again," Johnny said as he pushed up his large, round glasses with his forefinger. "Those are where all of Komui's failed experiments go...I think he still works on stuff in there too, though we try to make sure he doesn't do that. Oh, I'll take you to your room, by the way." I smiled at Johnny despite what he had said about Komui. By the looks of things, it seemed like Komui had some problems.

* * *

"Thanks, Johnny. I really appreciate it." I said when we finally made it to the hall where my room was. He walked away, smiling in acknowledgment and I headed for my door. Or, at least, what I assumed was my door.

I had my hand on the knob and was about to turn it, when Kanda's voice rang out. "What the hell are you doing?" he said, and I turned to him, shocked.

"What?" I asked, confused and at the same time annoyed.

"Get away from my damn room," He said angrily, and I looked at his door, then him, then back to the door, my face burning.

I threw my hand from the knob and shouted, "OUR ROOMS NEED FREAKING LABELS!" before walking into my room and slamming the door behind me.

A few minutes later I had a plan. First, I needed many different colors of paint. Then I would need a small brush. I was going to label our rooms. I walked out of my room and went straight to Ashley's room for some reason. Maybe by some chance she would have paint. I knocked on her door as I opened it, and was about to ask when the sight of her room shocked me into silence. It looked like while I was wandering around the Order they had set up Ashley's room how she wanted it.

The cotton candy blue paint was a great choice. It really complimented all of the furniture she had. On the same wall as the door, there was a wooden bureau, and opposite to that wall was her window, where she had a wooden desk. There was a blank canvas on her desk, which was under the window which had long aqua blue curtains. The wall on my right had her bed which was covered with a shimmery aqua bedspread that had matching pillows. There was a nightstand by her bed and a full length mirror on the wall next to her nightstand. On the wall across the one with her bed and nightstand, there was a wooden ballet bar.

I smiled at Ashley, who was sitting on her bed. "Your room looks really nice. I didn't know you did ballet," I said.

"Thanks! And yeah," She said, smiling wide as she looked over her room. I looked over at the blank canvas on her desk.

"Hey, Ashley? Do you happen to have any paint?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do...Why?" She asked, as she got up from her bed and pulled an assortment of paint tubes from the drawer in her desk.

"Well...I was gonna label everyone's doors." I said, and she smiled.

"Oh, okay. That's actually a really good idea. What colors do you need?" She asked.

"Could I maybe borrow all of them? And a paint brush?" I asked, feeling bad for asking for so much.

"Oh yeah, sure!" She said, handing me all of the paint tubes and a paint brush.

"Thanks, I'll get them back to you as soon as possible," I said, smiling at her as I closed the door behind me.

* * *

I decided to start by Raikou's room, and work my way back to my room because I knew I would be wiped out by the time I was finished. I knocked on the first door of the hall, and Krory opened it. "May I help you?" He asked, and I smiled.

"I'm labeling doors. What color do you want?" I asked, and the painting of doors began.

I painted Krory's name in black, and made the little "o" in his name look like a vampire by adding a cape, fangs, and Krory's hair. I painted Lenalee's name in a light sea foam green, and put a little cloud design around her name. Next was Miranda, and I painted her name in a really dark purple, painting the name in cursive for it to look more fancy. I knocked on Raikou's door and she opened it.

"Hey. What's up?" She asked, staring at the paint tubes and brush in my hands.

"I'm labeling doors. What color do you want your name in?" I said. Raikou laughed.

"Black," she said. I smiled.

"I knew you were gonna say that," I said, and proceeded to paint her name in black. After I put her name on the door, I painted a little panda sitting on top of the "R" in Raikou.

I went to the next door and knocked, only to find Lavi open it. "Miss me already?" He said, grinning at me and leaning on the doorway. I laughed and peeked inside his room. It was almost as messy as Komui's office, which was really saying something. There were books and newspapers everywhere, even on the bunk bed. Speaking of, on the top bunk a really old man was sitting, reading a book. He had pale skin and a white puff of a ponytail atop his head, with makeup around his eyes that really did make him look like a panda. I assumed he was Bookman.

"I'm labeling doors. What color do you want?" I said, and Lavi smiled at me.

"Red." he said, and I smiled back before nodding. I painted the words, "Bookman & Lavi" on the door, and painted little books all around it. Then I proceeded down the hall in the general direction of my room.

When I got to the hall with my room, I didn't bother asking Ashley what she wanted. I already had an idea of what I thought she would like. I painted her name in a pale pink, and put little butterflies around her name. I then went to my door and painted my name in black and white, putting delicate swirls around my name. Then I went to Kanda's door. I had the perfect idea for him.

I found the brightest pink I could find in all of Ashley's colors, and painted Kanda's name in that pink, putting swirls all in his name. I laughed mischievously as I painted roses around his name, then started to paint hearts. As I was in the process of painting the hearts, I heard approaching footsteps. I turned and Lavi was behind me, staring at Kanda's door. He started laughing, and I shushed him, laughing. I drew the last heart just as Kanda passed, and I couldn't contain myself. I burst out laughing.

"What the fuck is this?" He said, and I bit my lip to stop myself.

"Oh, come on Kanda. You know you like it! Doesn't it just scream Kanda? Oh wait...now it does." I said, and painted a pink exclamation mark behind his name, smiling wide. He looked absolutely pissed. And I was enjoying every damn second of it. "I mean, seriously. I thought this expressed you really well. After all, your so loving, and caring-" My words were cut off as he walked into his room and slammed the door. I started laughing again, and Lavi gave me a high five before leaving to go where ever he was going before he saw me painting on Kanda's door. I gathered myself and knocked on Allen's door as I opened it, which was, I had to admit, a bad habit.

When I opened the door I froze in place. Allen was doing finger push ups on a wobbling chair, balanced on one of it's legs. But the best part was he was shirtless. I felt like I would die right then and there. Sweat was pouring from his pale skin, and when I walked in his head jerked up at the noise. He looked so beautiful, so unbelievably hot. I couldn't keep myself together. Allen. Was. Shirtless. And he was doing finger push ups. Was that even possible? On a wobbling chair? I felt like I would faint, or at the very least get a nose bleed.

Allen jumped from the chair, wiped sweat from his brow with his forearm, and smiled at me. I knew I was blushing uncontrollably and probably blushed even more when he smiled at me. "Was there something you needed?" He asked, and my heart skipped a beat when he came closer. I couldn't stop _staring_... I averted my gaze to my feet.

"Um...I'm labeling doors, And I wanted to know what color you wanted..." I said, my voice shaking. There was a moment of silence as he thought about it.

"Blue." He said, and I nodded before walking out of his room. When I entered the hall I took a deep breath, trying with all I had not to squeal with delight at seeing Allen shirtless again. I painted Allen's name blue and painted a little Timcanpy flying around the "A". When I was finished I went back into Ashley's room and gave her back the paint and brush. As I was about to leave, I had an idea.

"Hey Ashley, I'm sure my room smells a whole lot better than your's and Raikou's...do you guys want to have a sleep over in my room?" I asked. Ashley nodded and smiled warmly at me.

"That would be awesome. Thanks," She said.

"No problem. Get whatever you'll need and we'll put it in my room before we go get Raikou." I said. Ashley grabbed a pillow and threw it in my room. She looked at all the pillows I already had strewn across my room. "You sure you'll need that?" I asked, smiling.

"Yes. I have this thing where I can only sleep on my pillow." She said, and I laughed.

"I know exactly how you feel." I said, and we walked to Raikou's room. I was really glad I labeled the doors. We knocked and she opened the door. "Hey Raikou, we decided that it'll be more comfortable in my room because the smell won't be as strong. So do you wanna have a sleep over?" I said.

She thought about it for a second. "Sure," she said after a while.

"Great!" I said, and we walked back to my room. I closed my door when we walked in, and as soon as we got into my room we collapsed onto my big, fluffy pillows that were lying on the rug on my floor, and we all heaved one simultaneous sigh. "Ugh. I cant believe we got drunk. I'm so embarrassed by what I did! I'm just glad Allen didn't comment about me saying that I saw up his nose...ugh!" I said, and buried my face in my hands.

"You told him you could see up his nose?" Raikou asked, laughing. I smiled, embarrassed.

"Be quiet, you can't even talk about what _I _did." We all laughed and then Ashley sighed.

"But I know. I just can't believe we let Cross kiss us. And all the embarrassing things we did...I feel like I just want to crawl into a bathtub and die." said Ashley. Me and Raikou stared at her.

"Bathtub?" I said, and at the same time Raikou said, "What?" Ashley smiled a little.

"Yes, a bathtub. I want to crawl into a bathtub and die. What's so weird about that?" She asked. Me and Raikou looked at each other.

"Well...why a bathtub?" Raikou said.

"Because! They're comforting. Haven't you ever just sat in your tub and let the water from the shower just pour over you?" Me and Raikou looked at each other before we shook our heads, smiling. "No." We laughed.

There was a small moment of silence before I decided to speak up. "So...I saw Allen shirtless again." I said, and we all laughed.

"What happened?" Ashley said. I sighed in contentment.

"Well I opened his door and he was doing these really smexy finger push up things on a chair that was balanced on one leg...Oh my God it was so hot. I swear I was about to _die_." I said, sighing again at the end. Raikou and Ashley laughed. "What?" I said, laughing along with them. "Oh. By the way, have you two seen Kanda's lovely door?" I said, and started laughing. They shook their heads. "Oh my God, come see!" I said, and pulled them along behind me as I ran out the door.

When they saw his door Ashley almost fell to her knees laughing so hard, clutching her stomach. Raikou smiled and said, "Mmm. That's manly," which caused me and Ashley to laugh even harder.

"Guys c'mon before he comes out." I whispered, and led them back into my room again, this time leaving the door slightly open.

"That suits him so well," Ashley said, still laughing. I grabbed a pillow to hold before I plopped down on the fluffy cushions on the floor again, getting comfortable. I was pooped. I could probably go to sleep right at that moment.

"Ashley, you like Kanda. Admit it." I said, and she looked at me.

"I do not!" She said defiantly, and me and Raikou smiled.

"That's proof you like him," said Raikou, and we laughed.

"Just admit it, " I said, "You. Like. Kanda. Say it. Say it!" I said, laughing.

"Okay, alright, alright! I like Kanda! Gosh!" Ashley said. I laughed and then sighed.

"Finallyyyy," I said, and flung my arm out to hit Ashley with the pillow. I closed my eyes and smiled. She gave a short laugh and it was a minute before I felt something soft slam into my face. I opened my eyes and smiled, jumping to my feet. I threw Raikou a pillow from my bed before our pillow fight began.

There were pillows flying everywhere, and I was thankful they weren't the kind that would bust and send feathers all about, because I would have had to clean it up after wards. We giggled and screeched and laughed, and that was when Lavi walked past my door. "Whoa! You can't do these sexy things without telling me!" He said, and we all paused for a second before we attacked him and each other with pillows. "Allen! Come on!" He called out of the door, and Allen walked into the doorway. We all paused again, and this time Lavi jumped Allen, pillow in hand. Allen grabbed a pillow and started attacking Lavi with it.

It was a mess of pillows and people. We were all screaming, yelling, laughing. It was so much fun. Then I heard a door slam and Kanda came into the doorway. "Would you brats keep it down?" He shouted angrily. We all paused for a moment, staring at him.

Then, I had another brilliant idea. "GET HIM!" I shouted, and we all chased Kanda down the halls of the Order, attacking him with pillows till he brought Mudgen out.

"Yu, your no fun," Lavi said, and we all walked dejectedly back to my room to bring the pillows back. We said good night to the guys and then they left, closing the door behind them. Me, Ashley, and Raikou instantly collapsed onto the floor, not bothering to talk, and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_~Ashley~_

I woke up to find bright light streaming through Dallas's stained glass window, drowning the room in red, purple, blue, green, yellow, and orange light. It was so beautiful that I couldn't help but smile. Last night was so much fun. Talking with Dallas and Raikou and participating in that crazy pillow fight really made me feel like the order was my home. It made me feel like I actually had a home; one that I prayed would be permanent.

I looked over at Dallas and Raikou and found that Dallas was awake and Raikou was still asleep. "Good morning," I said to Dallas. She smiled before retuning the greeting. "Should we wake her?" I asked pointing at Raikou.

"Yeah we might as well. We don't want to miss breakfast and I'm starving," she replied. I laughed before saying "Okay" and nudged Raikou. "Raikou wake up," I said softly. She stirred but didn't open her eyes. "Raikou, Dallas is hungry. If you don't wake up we'll miss breakfast and Dallas will die!" this caused all of us to laugh even Raikou. She opened her eyes and groggily got up. "Good morning," I said, smiling at Raikou.

After we were all dressed and ready, we walked down to the cafeteria. Once we had our food we sat down at what had become our usual table. It looked like we were the last ones to get up. After saying 'good morning' to everyone I couldn't stop staring at Allen. He was already fully awake and was scarfing down his endless pile of plates like he would never again have the chance to eat. It was crazy how much and how fast this guy ate. I was just about to start eating when I noticed Kanda. He was sitting at a table all by himself. He looked so lonely.

"Kanda looks lonely," I told Dallas.

She paused to look over at Kanda and smiled before saying, "Hmmm well we can't have that can we? The oh-so loving Kanda should never be lonely. You should go ask him to sit with us." I laughed before rolling my eyes, "I highly doubt he would sit with us." She laughed with me and said, "Just do it." When I didn't do or say anything Dallas sighed and grabbed my hand. "C'mon," She said before dragging me over to Kanda.

Quietly we walked up behind Kanda. I reached out my hand and grabbed a lock of his luscious black hair and tugged it.

"What the hell!" He yelled, turning around and when he saw me his eyes narrowed. "I told you to never to that again!" he yelled, his voice full of annoyance.

I smiled mischievously, "Correction, you said that if I ever tugged you hair again on the train that you would kill me. Well guess what? We're not on a train." Kanda didn't reply. He just glared at me and gave me a look that could kill. My smile faded at Kanda's scariness and I backed off a bit, but at the same time I returned his death glare with one of my own, and I wasn't going to look away until he did.

It was at this point in time that Dallas decided to tug on Kanda's hair, and he moved his death glare over to her. "What?" Dallas asked innocently, "You never told me _I_ couldn't tug your hair." She said smiling.

"Kanda you should come sit with us! You look so lonely sitting all by yourself." I told him.

"No way in hell," he said, continuing to glare at us.

"Oh come on Kanda! Pleaaaaasssseeeeee? C'mon Kandaaa!" Dallas and I begged. We're practically on our knees begging him to sit with us and people were beginning to stare. I could tell that we were really ticking him off and for some reason it amused me. This time Dallas and I tugged on his hair as we continued to beg him to sit with us.

"Fine," he said irately, "If it will shut the two of you up I will sit with you!" His voice was cold and menacing but that didn't stop us from smiling triumphantly as Kanda followed us to our table. When he sat down everyone stared at both him and us. "Yu you're sitting with us!" Lavi said thrilled causing me to laugh. Allen looked annoyed and just ignored Kanda, returning his attention to his food. Miranda didn't seem to mind and Lenalee and Krory both looked a little shocked. Dallas was smiling smugly and Raikou was surprised that we were actually able to get him to sit with us. I was surprised too.

Kanda didn't say anything. He just ate in silence and seemed to be completely ticked. Although I had a feeling that he wasn't as ticked as he seemed to be. Secretly I think he liked it. I laughed at the thought. "What?" asked Dallas.

"Nothing," I replied. She didn't look like she believed me but she didn't pester me about it.

When we were finally done eating Dallas, Raikou and I walked back to our rooms together. "I can't believe you guys did that and it worked!" Raikou exclaimed.

"I can't believe it worked either," I said in response.

"He just couldn't resist our cuteness and had to give in!" Dallas said, causing us all to laugh.

"I'll see you guys later," I said as we approached my light pink, butterflied door. Dallas did a really good job painting everyone's doors. They looked so good. I especially loved what she did with Kanda's door. Just thinking about it made me smile.

When I walked into my room I had no idea what I should do. Komui didn't seem to have any missions for us, so I guess I had some free time on my hands. "Hmmm I guess I could finish some of those paintings I've been wanting to do," I mused. And with that I sat down at my desk, and pulled out my brightly colored tubes of paint and my many paintbrushes. I was planning on painting a picture of a ballerina dancing her way through the magical land of faerie. I've had this idea for a while, but I've just been too busy to actually paint it. I squirted out some of the jade green paint, dipped my brush in it and began to paint. I soon became entranced in the world of colors and brushstrokes, and almost forgot where I was when all of a sudden I heard a knock on my door, startled I dropped my brush.

"Oops" I said as I got up to open my door. It was Johnny. "Oh hey Johnny," I smiled.

"Hey, Komui told me to give you this," Johnny handed me what looked like a shoe box, "They're the Pointe shoes you asked for."

My smile broadened. "Oh thank you so much! They got here faster than I though they would," I said as I took the box from Johnny, "Tell Komui thank you for me and that I really appreciate it!"

"I will," He said before turning around to go back to the science department. Smiling I closed the door and opened the box. Inside was a pair of light pink Pointe shoe. I stroked the silky fabric and smiled. It had been about three or four years since I've last danced, and I've missed it.

I sat the box on my bed and walked over to my desk to clean up my mess. When I finished I stared at my painting. Everything was turning out the way I wanted it too. The ballerina was looking graceful and both the faeries and the land of faerie looked very surreal and dreamlike. Behind the Ballerina I was thinking of painting a crescent moon, but that was going to have to wait until later. Right now I was dying to put on my Pointe shoes and begin breaking them in.

I walked over to my bed and gingerly put on my Pointe shoes. They fit perfectly and felt so right. I then walked over to my ballet bar and began to do some releves and other warm ups that would help me break in my Pointe shoes. Being up on Pointe felt so amazing, and so right. Ballet was one of the things I could always get lost in. Doing it always helped me forget about my troubles and problems. Anyone who watched me could see that, for I could never get rid of that smile that I always got when I put on a pair of Pointe shoes. It was a smile of bliss. Yes Ballet was painful but to me it was a comforting pain. Which I know is weird but it is. It's a pain that you end up missing when you haven't danced for years.

I was in the middle of doing a grande plie in fifth position when I heard Dallas yelling, "Ashley has a stalker!" I abruptly stopped.

"What?" I yelled confused as I opened my door only to reveal Dallas.

"You have a stalker!" She repeated.

I gave her a confused look before saying, "What do you mean?"

"Well Kanda was just kind of staring at you through the door. It was really weird." She said smiling.

I gave Dallas a look of absolute disbelief, "Kanda? The same Kanda who we forced to sit with us at breakfast? That Kanda?" I asked shocked

"Yep that Kanda," she said, nodding her head.

"Are you sure? Cause that's really weird," I asked still not believing it.

"I'm positive it was him. What were you doing anyway?" Dallas asked.

"Ballet," I said as I pointed to my Pointe shoes.

"Well that makes it kind of perverted," She said.

"I know!" I added, "I feel so violated." I said as I put my head in my hands.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_~Raikou~_

I was laying in my bed reading a volume of vampire knight when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to see it was Dallas and Ashley.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Kanda's been stalking me," Ashley said, looking a little uneasy.

"He was watching her while she was dancing," Dallas said.

"Um..why?" I asked.

"How would we know? That's what's where trying to find out." Dallas said a little annoyed.

Kanda just happened to pass us and we all went silent. He turned around to face us.

"Ashley.." No emotion showed on his face. He reached to where his sword was...putting his hand in his pocket and taking out a crumpled piece of paper. He tossed it to Ashley and without another word was off.

"Is it a love letter?" Dallas asked as Ashley unfolded the paper.

"No..it's the measurement for my uniform..why would he have these?" she said, confused.

Our attention was brought to Johnny as he ran in our direction.

"Oh Ashley, I was looking for you!" He stopped in front of us. "I lost your measurements..and since we're making new uniforms I need to take them again," He lifted up a tape measurer.

"Oh no need for that." She handed him the paper.

"How did you get that!" he asked, shocked.

"Kanda gave it to me..he didn't say how he got it,"

Johnny looked guilty. " We never organize the papers so he probably picked it up by accident." He smiled, "Well thanks for this..It's almost time for dinner why don't we go together?"

I hadn't realized the time had moved by so quickly. After we had finished eating we all said goodnight and went to bed.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_~Dallas~_

As my eyes fluttered open I had only one thing on my mind: Food. Damn, I was hungry. I sat up and rubbed my eyes groggily, groaning as I stretched and my stomach growled. I threw the covers off and got dressed, brushing my hair and teeth before walking out of my room. I stretched one last time and sighed, knocking on Ashley's door. When she opened it all I said was, "I'm hungry." and she nodded, following me as I headed towards the dining hall. Allen and Raikou met with us on the way, and we all walked together.

Once I got into the doorway, the smell hit me. The sweet scent of french toast filled my senses and became the only thing on my mind. I practically ran to the front of the line before anyone else could get there, Allen on my heels, Raikou and Ashley walking slowly behind us. Once I smelt french toast, I was fully awake. "Jerry!" I exclaimed, breathing hard and slamming my palms onto the counter. He turned around and smiled, piling three plates filled with french toast in front of me automatically. I smiled in appreciation.

"Is today french toast day or something?" I asked.

"Yup! We had so much bread and powdered sugar, I thought I'd make use of it." He said with his usual smile, handing me a bag of powdered sugar and a spoon. I smiled at him again and rushed off to our table, where Miranda, Krory, Lenalee, and Kanda were already sitting. Miranda and Krory didn't look as tired as they usually did, in fact, they were actually eating their food instead of sleeping on it. All of them smiled at me when I sat down and said good morning while Kanda rudely ignored me. I noticed he didn't have any food to eat as I sprinkled the sugar over my toast.

"Good morning, Kanda!" I said cheerfully, looking at him expectantly but all he did was glare back. "I _said_, good morning KANDA!" I said loudly, emphasizing each word. Lenalee laughed and Kanda kept glaring at me. I raised my eyebrows. I wasn't going to start eating until he said good morning to me. I cleared my throat, and heard him mumble something. "What was that?" I asked.

Allen walked over to the table, sitting across from me and next to Kanda, his mountain of plates disappearing quickly. Lavi came and sat next to me, and Ashley and Raikou sat on my other side. "What's going on?" Lavi asked, looking at me as I stared at Kanda.

"Oh nothing, but Kanda was just about to say something to me." I said, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. It was so fun to tease Kanda. "So what were you saying, Kanda? I couldn't hear you."

"Good fucking morning." He growled. I smiled a him.

"Awww, thanks!" I said, not caring as people stared from me to him. "I don't know why you can be in such a bad mood, it's french toast day." I said, mouth half full of french toast as I stuffed my face. Ashley and Raikou laughed as I finished my last plate of french toast and said, "Probably's just pissed off 'cause he can't have his precious soba..."

"What was that?" He snapped.

"Oh, nothing..." I smiled. I picked up my three plates and was delighted to see the powdered sugar still on them. I licked them clean, then sighed in contentment. "That was good." I heard everyone chuckle. "What?" I asked innocently.

"Dallas, you kind of have stuff all over your mouth." Lenalee said, laughing. I was about to wipe off the sugar when Lavi tapped my shoulder. When I turned to him he lifted my chin. My face was a big question mark as he leaned in closer.

"Whaa-Mmff?" I started, but was cut off as Lavi kissed me. The whole table gasped in shock, and I could feel everyone's eyes on me and Lavi. I went rigid; what could I do? My face was on fire with an uncontrollable blush. I could feel him licking the sugar off of my mouth with his tongue. I kept my eyes open throughout the whole kiss, and when Lavi pulled away I stared at him, shocked completely.

"Sorry, I was hungry." Lavi said, winking at me and licking the remainder of powdered sugar from his lips.

"You could've just eaten some toast..." I mumbled, and he laughed at my expression. My face was on fire, my eyes wide. My hand raised to lightly rest on my lips. I could barely keep from hiding my face, and when I looked over at Allen, he was glaring at Lavi. I wiped my mouth with my hand and looked down at the table. Even though I wasn't looking, I could tell that almost every pair of eyes at that table were settled onto me.

"Lavi! You don't do that kind of stuff to girls unless they want you to!" I heard Allen scorn him, and looked up. When I did, Allen was leaned over the table, hitting Lavi on the head.

"Ouch! Damn, beansprout, that hurt. Besides, I didn't hear any complaints from the lady." Lavi said, rubbing his head before smirking at me. What made it worse was that I actually didn't mind the kiss. My cheeks flushed darker, I probably looked like a tomato by that time, and I looked down again, unable to bear the embarrassment.

At that precise moment Reever walked into the dining hall. "Dallas! Allen! Komui has a mission for you," He called. My stomach jumped in excitement and nervousness as I backed away from the table quickly, stealing a glance at Allen as he did the same. We followed Reever to Komui's office, and I was pleased I would be going on a mission with Allen. It would be a great chance to get to know each other better.

Komui's office was as messy as usual, and Allen and I carefully picked our way through the papers to stand in front of his desk.

"Dallas, Allen." Komui said, nodding to each of us. We smiled at him. "We suspect a possible innocence in Paris. We're not sure if it is really innocence, but it might be. Maybe. There have been reports about the Eiffel Tower's structure softening. Architects don't know what's wrong and they, for some reason, can't even touch it. Every time they try, their hands just slip through it as if it's not even there." My eyes widened as Komui said this, and me and Allen looked at each other, shock displayed on our faces, before bringing our attention back to Komui.

"I want you two to go find out if it really is innocence, and if so, to retrieve it as soon as you can. I've arranged for you to take a train there and stay for as long as needed at a hotel near the tower. Pack your things quickly and meet at the underground canal when your done. I'll have a finder meet you at the train station and accompany you on your mission. Good luck." He finished with a smile, handing us the traditional information packet.

Me and Allen walked to our rooms, and I got my suit case, throwing in toiletries, some night gowns, the packet Komui gave both of us, and everything else I would need. I had just closed my suit case when I heard a knock at my door. I grabbed my case in one hand and opened the door to reveal Allen.

"You ready?" He asked, smiling at me.

"As I'll ever be," I replied, and Allen laughed. We took the short boat ride in silence, and when we made it to the train station I tip-toed to look over the sea of people so I could find someone in a finder's uniform. As we walked through the throng of people to where the train sat idly, I finally spotted one. I waved my hand to get their attention. "There he is!" I said to Allen as we walked towards him.

"Hello exorcists, I am Stephen. I will be accompanying you." the finder said.

I smiled at him and shook his hand, "I'm Dallas." I said politely.

"I'm Allen," Allen said, and shook Stephen's hand also. He was obviously older than both Allen and I, probably in his mid twenties, but he treated us with a sort of reverence and respect; it made me feel a bit awkward. He had short brown hair and green eyes and tanned skin with freckles sprinkled over his nose and cheeks.

Stephen bowed to each of us before leading us into the train. The conductor took a look at our uniforms before leading us to a first class cabin. While me and Allen went into the cabin, Stephen stayed in the hall way, sitting against the wall. Before I walked in and closed the door I poked my head out.

"Stephen, you can come in if you want!" I said. He shook his head.

"No, I couldn't.." He replied.

"Yes you could! Come on you'll get lonely out here," I said. He shook his head again, smiling.

"I'm fine out here, miss Dallas. Please don't worry about me." He said, and I hesitated in the doorway.

"Okay.." I replied in a "suit-yourself" tone before walking into the cabin and closing the door behind me. Allen smiled at me as I sat across from him. We spent a while talking about the mission, and how odd the circumstances were, and whether or not we believed it was innocence. I thought that it was a definite possibility, though no one would know for sure until we completed our mission.

"So have you ever been to Paris before, Allen? I'm so excited, I've never been anywhere except England before now." I said, to fill the small silence that had come after our previous conversation.

"Yeah I have...With my master." He said, and looked off into the distance. I could only imagine what kind of experience he had had with his master in Paris. "But you haven't been anywhere other than England before now?" He asked, abruptly returning to the present.

"No, my family didn't travel much...I'm happy I get to see more of the world now." I said, smiling. Allen smiled back and looked out of the small cabin window. I looked at him, idly wondering how he had gotten the scar, why his hair was white, why he always seemed to get really depressed when his master was mentioned. I decided that I would ask him at some point on this mission. I yawned and settled in my seat, looking out the window.

I hadn't even noticed I had fallen asleep until I was gently shaken awake. "Dallas?" Allen asked. I mumbled incoherently and stretched.

"Hnn," I murmured sleepily.

"We're here." Allen said, and I stood up abruptly, stumbling as my vision faltered from getting up too fast. I placed a hand on the luggage carrier above my seat, regaining my balance.

"I'm okay." I said, mostly to myself, and grabbed my case. Allen chuckled.

"Okay." He said, grabbing his own suit case and we walked out to see Stephen waiting for us. He bowed to us and lead us off the train. I stopped and looked around. The architecture was beautiful, some buildings made out of white marble, elaborately carved. But what took my breath away was the Eiffel Tower. It was near the train station, which meant that the station had to be close to the hotel we were staying in. The tower looked a little slouched, and there were so many workers trying to fix the slowly softening structure.

"I'll bring your luggage to the hotel, you two go check out the tower." Stephen told us. I nodded before me and Allen rushed towards the tower, handing Stephen our things.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

_~Ashley~_

I watched as Dallas and Allen departed for their mission. Once they had disappeared from my line of vision I turned my attention back to the table, of which seemed to be completely covered in shock, and a few other emotions. Lavi, grinning that stupid smile of his, looked smug and satisfied, while Lenalee, Krory, and Miranda all had different expressions of shock on their faces, Kanda looked disgusted, and Raikou seemed to have a look of mingled shock, disgust, and irritation on her face. I too was still recovering from the shock of watching Lavi boldly clean the powdered sugar from Dallas's mouth with his tongue.

An awkward silence had settled itself over the table. It was a heavy silence that weighed down on me to the point that I could hardly finish my breakfast. It seemed like no one really knew how to move on from what we had just witnessed.

"Soooo….." Lenalee began in an attempt to change the subject, "the weather looks nice. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day."

"It does look nice," agreed Krory.

I turned my head to face Raikou and asked her if she was done eating and would like to walk around the order with me. She said sure and without another word we excused ourselves from the awkwardness of the table. As we walked away from the table I faintly heard Miranda ask, "So your birthday's coming up, right Lenalee?"

'_Hmm, that's interesting' _I thought as we walked out of the cafeteria doors and into the hall.

As soon as I was out of the cafeteria I let out a deep breath that I had unconsciously been holding throughout the entire morning. "Well that was awkward," I said as we began to walk aimlessly around the Black Order. Raikou nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe he did that! I mean I can because it's Lavi, but I would have never thought he'd be so….so bold!" I said as I shook my head in a mixture of disbelief and astonishment.

"I can," she said, and I noted there was an edge to her voice.

I tilted my head in confusion before saying, "Raikou, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She snapped, her voice sharp with irritation.

It was then that I realized what was wrong. Raikou liked Lavi and was ticked because he had kissed Dallas. But before I could say anything about it Reever suddenly appeared and interrupted me. "Ashley, there you are! Komui has a mission for you and Lenalee."

"Oh okay, I'll see you later Raikou." I said as I waved goodbye to her before following Reever to Komui's train wreck of an office. It looked like Raikou would be in a bad mood for a while. I hoped she'd be okay.

When I walked into his office I saw that Lenalee was already there. Komui's office was as messy as always which meant I had to carefully navigate my way around all the junk on the floor in order to sit on the couch next to Lenalee. Behind Komui's desk was a map of Russia.

"Hey Lenalee, hey Kamaoi." I smiled as I said Kamaoi. Komui smiled at the use of his nickname and Lenalee laughed.

They both returned the greeting before Komui began our mission briefing.

"We've recently discovered innocence in Yekaterinburg, Russia." he pointed to a spot on the map of Russia that hung behind his desk. "Your jobs are to retrieve the innocence before an akuma can get it, and to destroy any akuma you come across. I've arranged for a train to take you to a city just outside of Yekaterinburg, but you'll have to walk the rest of the way. We don't have much time so you'll have to leave at once. For a more detailed description of your mission, read the packets you're about to receive. Meet at the underground canal as soon as you're done packing. Good luck."

"Ummm…brother aren't you forgetting something?" Lenalee asked as Komui handed us our packets.

"Hmmm, and what's that?" Komui asked innocently.

"Ashley's Golem? Don't tell me you forgot to give Dallas her Golem again too!" She said, annoyed.

"Oh right!" Komui said before disappearing under his desk. After much rummaging through papers, Komui reappeared with a black brief case. "Sorry about the wait, it seems Reever kept on forgetting to give you and Dallas your golems."

"Hey! Don't blame this on me!" Reever said, suddenly appearing into Komui's messy office. In his hands were a stack of papers.

"Reever what are you doing here?" Komui asked, unabashed.

"I need you to sign these papers. By the way why do you always blame all of your mistakes on me?" Reever said, irritation clear in his voice.

"Okay," Komui sighed heavily as he eyed the massive stack of papers Reever held, "I'll sign them once I've given Ashley her golem." Komui said, completely ignoring Reever's question. Komui opened the briefcase to reveal a shiny back sphere with black pointy ears on top and a pair of long black bat wings. The front of the sphere was covered in a circle of glass. Centered in the glass was a small solid black circle, and around this circle was a large black ring. The shiny black golem also had a long forked black tail. "This is your golem. Golems are used to communicate with other exorcists and headquarters. It's pretty much the same as the other golems, the only difference is that it has a tail that you can use to connect to telephones in case you need to contact headquarters. Lenalee can show you how to use it." He shut the briefcase and handed it to me. "Well, that's it. Good luck on your mission."

"Thanks Komaoi," I said, smiling as Lenalee and I left to go and pack for our mission.

* * *

Once I had finished packing I met Lenalee down in the underground canals and together we left for the train station in one of the gondolas. It was silent for a little while. The only sound being that of the pole breaking through the water as Lenalee moved the gondola along the canal.

"So, are you ready for another mission?" Lenalee asked, breaking the silence.

"I think so. I'm still getting used to the missions though." I replied.

"That's understandable," she said, smiling. Lenalee then stopped the gondola and stepped out and onto the sidewalk. I did the same and together we walked out of the underground canals and into a crowd of rushing people. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the bright light of the sun. Lenalee and I had to fight our way through the crowd of people in order to catch our train, and after showing the conductor the crest on our uniforms we were given first class cabins.

Lenalee and I sat down opposite of each other. A few minutes later the train whistle blew and then started to move down the track. Slow at first and then faster and faster until the scenery outside my window was nothing more than a blur of color.

"So have you ever been to Russia before?" Lenalee asked, drawing my attention away from the window and to her.

"No I haven't. I've been practically everywhere in Europe, and I've lived in India for a little while, but I've never been to Russia. What about you?"

"Wow, it seems like you've traveled a lot. I haven't been to Russia before either."

"Well than this will be an adventure for the both of us." I said, smiling.

"Yes it will. So why is it you've traveled so much?" Lenalee asked, curious.

Caught off guard by Lenalee's question and unprepared to tell her about my past, I hesitated a moment before telling her my story. "Oh, well you see when I was seven my parents were killed by akuma, and on the day of their funeral I was told that I would be living with some relatives, so I ran away. I basically spent the rest of my life moving around from place to place, because akuma were always attacking me. It was in a museum in Germany that I found my innocence. It was sitting out on display and when I saw it I had a sudden impulse to take it. I would never have stolen something that I didn't need like clothes or food, and so I was absolutely disgusted with myself for stealing my dagger. I was so disgusted that I left Germany for India. It was there that Kanda found me and took me to the Order." I let out a heavy sigh.

"Oh I'm sorry. That must have been hard on you, being on your own at such a young age." Lenalee said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but it wasn't that bad. I got to see so much of the world that it kind of makes up for it," I said as I gave a faint smile, "If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering what your life was like before the order."

"Oh I don't mind. I don't really remember what my life was like before the order. I've been at the order for as long as I can remember. My parents, too, were killed by akuma and when the order found out that I was an accommodator to the dark boots I was taken to the Black Order by myself. I was separated from my one and only remaining family member, my brother. They wouldn't even let me out freely and to be honest I felt like a prisoner. My brother worked hard to become the science department's head officer for me, and three years later we were reunited." When Lenalee finished her story I was finally able to understand why Komui acted the way he did and why Lenalee was able to handle it.

"That's amazing that Komui did that for you. It explains so much." I commented.

"Yeah, my brother can be crazy sometimes." Lenalee smiled.

"So I heard your birthday was coming up." I said, recalling what Miranda had asked Lenalee earlier that day.

"Yeah, my birthday's next week. I hope my brother doesn't do anything too extreme for it." She mumbled.

I laughed before saying, "From what I've seen of Komui, he probably will."

Lenalee laughed, "Yeah I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with him." A bright golden glow filled the darkening cabin as the sun begun to sink, illuminating the clouds with a vibrant pink, purple, and orange glow. "Oh I almost forgot! I need to show you how to use your golem."

"Oh right," I said as I pulled out my suit case from under my seat and took out my Golem. Admiring it, I held it loosely in my hand, palm up. I was surprised when it suddenly came to life. Flapping its long black bat wings, it hovered in the air as Lenalee began to explain how to use my Golem.

"It's pretty simple. Everything is pretty much voice activated, so if you need to send a message to someone just say 'send message to' and then the name of that person, and then say the message. You can also connect your Golem to other people's Golems so that, for example, if you need to split up to fight akuma but you still need to stay in contact, then you can connect your golem to their's and stay in contact while fighting the akuma. The only problem is that you have to be within a six mile radius of the other exorcist's golem. To do that you basically just have to say 'connect to' and then the name of the exorcist and then Golem. Now if you need to contact to headquarters you'll have to hook up your Golem to a phone by using its tail as a cord."

"Oh okay. That's seems easy enough. The Order has some very interesting technology." I said as I snatched my Golem out of the air. Just as I was about to put it away it jumped out of my hands, startling me, and hovered in front of my face.

I then heard a voice that sounded very much like Dallas's whisper, "Pssst Nom says hi."

I stared at my Golem and blinked twice in astonishment. "What the heck!" I exclaimed, utterly confused. "Who the heck is Nom?" I looked over at Lenalee who looked just as confused as I did.

"Was that Dallas?" Lenalee asked.

"I think so. It sounded very much like h—"

I abruptly stopped talking as Lenalee's Golem appeared out of nowhere, and repeated the same message that I had just received.

"Okay, now I'm even more confused than before!" I exclaimed.

"Dallas must have recently received her Golem which would explain why she was able to contact our Golems, but I have no idea who Nom is." Lenalee said in an attempt to make sense of the situation.

I then burst out laughing at the randomness of the situation. It was just too random and weird that it would make anyone laugh. Lenalee soon joined in on my laughter.

"Only Dallas, only Dallas," I said in between fits of giggles as I shook my head in bewilderment.

"I wonder if she sent that to everyone." Lenalee said once our laughter began to die down.

"Who knows," I smiled, "Knowing Dallas she probably did. I can't wait to get back to the Order and ask her about Nom."

Lenalee smiled and nodded her head in agreement, before she let out a large yawn which made me yawn too. "I'm so tired. What about you?"

"I'm tired too." I said as I glanced out the window. The sun had already set, leaving behind a dark black sky strewn with twinkling stars. The full moon cast an eerie glow in the train cabin that was both surreal and familiar. This glow was beginning to make both me and Lenalee sleepy, and it wasn't too long until we both ended up drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next two days, surprisingly, went by very quickly. I think that was mainly due to the fact that for the duration of the train ride Lenalee and I, after reading the packet Komui had given us, talked about anything and everything there was to talk about. We really got to know each other better thanks to this train trip to Russia, which was really cool, for I liked Lenalee and that was, after all, what I was hoping to do during this mission with her.

By the time we reached our destination in Perm, Russia it was already dark. As we walked off the train and onto the platform of Perm's train station I was greeted by a strong gust of freezing cold wind.

"Oh my God," I gasped as the icy cold air seeped into my clothes, knocking the breath out of me. I wrapped my arms around myself in order to try and stay warm. I silently thanked God that my exorcist uniform had long sleeves instead of short ones like Dallas's, although the slit in my skirt didn't help the situation at all. Lenalee, too, had her arms wrapped tightly around herself due to the vicious winds. "I can't believe we're going to have to walk 250 miles to Yekaterinburg in this weather! It's freezing! What the heck was Komui thinking? We're bound to get trapped in a blizzard!"

"Well the weather's not going to let up anytime soon so we might as well get going now before it gets worse." Lenalee said as she started to walk in the direction of our destination. I sighed in exasperation before following her into the city of Perm.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

_~Raikou~_

It had been a while since Ashley and Dallas had left. I was wondering in the cafeteria, unsure of what to do.

"Oh Raikou..!" I turned to see Miranda and Krory standing next to each other.

Krory was a tall man with a sober expression. He had a peculiar hair cut. His hair was black and cut short in the back while his bangs were white and came down to his chin, and it looked like he was wearing purple lipstick. Miranda, who was standing next to him, was almost a head shorter and also had a somber expression on her face. She had dark circles under her eyes and a mass of messy, curly, brown hair. They looked like they could be related.

"You're Raikou..right?" Miranda asked, starting to look uncomfortable. "Did I make a mistake?"

"No..I'm Raikou." I said, "Do you need something?"

"Komui has called us to go on a mission together." Krory said. I couldn't keep my attention from his white piece of hair that kept flopping in front of his face.

"Raikou?" he asked.

"Oh.. lets go," I followed behind them down the long corridors.

We finally arrived at Komui's office. The office, as usual, was littered with papers.

"Ah, you're finally here!" He said with a stupid smile on his face.

His expression suddenly turned serious.

"We've heard rumors of an akuma manufacturing plant from finders in Norway..I need all of you to pinpoint the location."

"Oh and Raikou," I faced Komui questioningly, "you haven't received a golem, because finders have these." He pulled a heavy looking metal box with two leather straps from under his desk and handed it to me. I put it on my back hesitantly. "That backpack is actually a telephone and will communicate with any exorcist's golem and with head quarters." He said. Just then what I assumed were golems popped out of Miranda and Krory's pockets. They looked like black spheres with wings and white designs etched across the front.

"Nom say's hi," I heard a voice say realizing it was coming from the golems. It must have been Dallas. I laughed to myself at the confused expressions of Krory and Miranda.

"Well..have a safe trip!~" Komui said with a smile, waving us off.

* * *

I sat staring out the window of the train. It had been about an hour since we had left and still nothing had been said between the three of us. Miranda was twiddling her thumbs and Krory was asleep, mumbling in his sleep. With nothing to say I began to fall asleep myself. I was awakened by Krory who was tapping me on the shoulder.

"Wake up Raikou..this is our stop."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

_~Dallas~_

It had gotten darker when Allen and I finally reached the tower, the large crowd that had been gathered around mostly gone by now, leaving me and Allen virtually alone. "Wow.." I whispered, looking up at the wilting structure as I walked closer to one of the large legs supporting it. I hesitantly reached out a hand, expecting it to go straight through, but instead I made contact with cold metal. I looked at Allen, surprised, who was tapping the metal leg with his forefinger.

"This must be because we're accomodators for innocence." he said, and I looked up at the incredible tower before me.

"Where would the innocence be..?" I asked, mostly to myself. I thought out of all the places it would probably be at the top of the tower, though there was no way of really knowing for certain. Maybe we could climb up the tower, and see for ourselves.

I was just about to suggest that when I heard someone running our way shouting, "Hey, exorcists!" I turned in time to see another person in the finder's uniform panting as he rushed toward us, holding a briefcase in one hand. He stopped in front of me, catching his breath. He was cute, a little older than me with longish black hair that was spiked in the back, and brown eyes. Once he caught his breath he straightened up and looked down at me. "Hi." He said, grinning at me.

I laughed, smiling up at him. "Hi."

"I'm Destery, Komui sent me to give this to you." He said, glancing at Allen before giving me the briefcase he held.

"I'm Dallas. It's nice to meet you Destery. What's in here..?" I said, looking up at Allen who shook Destery's hand, introducing himself.

"Komui wouldn't tell me. But he said I needed to give it to you as soon as possible, and that he was sorry that Reever kept forgetting to give it to you." He replied.

"Oh, okay.." I said.

"I'm gonna be staying for the rest of the mission along with Stephen. I thought I saw him go towards your hotel?" He asked.

"Yes," Allen said, and with that Destery said goodbye to us before starting in the direction Stephen had before. "Oh Dallas, did you ever get your golem?" I shook my head. "What? You mean Komui never gave you one?" He asked, a little exasperated.

"Nope. I guess this should be it then, huh?" I said, lifting the briefcase in my hands slightly. "Oh and speaking of golems, where's Timcanpy?" I asked. As soon as the words passed through my lips there was a rustling in Allen's hood. Then Timcanpy flew out, circling around my head before flying back to Allen to snuggle up in his snowy white hair.

"Ah, there you are Tim!" Allen said, and I smiled at the cute little golem. I then sat on the ground, placing the briefcase on my lap and opening the latch. As soon as I opened the case, a small black object flew out, almost hitting me but I flinched back just in time. I stared at it for a moment as it flapped its black, bat-like wings in front of me. It was a small black sphere with a circle of glass in the middle. At the center of the glass there was a small circle of black, and then another ring of black around it. It had black bat wings and a long, pointy tail. My eyes widened as I stretched out my arms to cup the golem in my hands.

"Oh my gosh it's so _cute_!" I exclaimed, bringing it to my face and rubbing my cheek against it. Allen chuckled. I smiled up at him and held the golem out in my hands, staring lovingly at it. "I shall name you...Nom." I said formally, then I giggled.

"Nom? Why?" Allen asked, laughing. I nodded excitedly.

"Yes, Nom! And because it's an adorable name for an adorable little creature." I giggled again, but stopped abruptly when an idea struck me. "Hey Allen, how do you work this thing?" I asked.

"It's pretty simple. Everything is voice activated, so if you want to call someone's golem you say their name and then your message. If you want to stay connected with someone for a long period of time, say 'connect to...' and then their name and your message. You have to be careful with that though, because it'll only work within a six mile radius. Oh, and if you want to contact head quarters you have to connect your golem to a phone." I nodded as I grasped all this new information.

"Allen, is there a way to send one message to _everyone's _golems?" I asked, a smirk forming on my lips. Allen seemed hesitant to answer me.

"Uh...Yes. You just say 'all-call' and then your message. Why..?"

I laughed quietly to myself, held Nom closer to my face and whispered, "All-call... Psst. Nom says hi." After my message I laughed and then sighed. "Ha. I can't wait to see everyone's reactions to that." Allen chuckled and smiled at me as I stood up. I hadn't even realized how dark it was, till I noticed the Eiffel Tower was twinkling with bright white lights and I stared, mouth agape. "Oh wow..it's beautiful.." I said.

"Sure is.." Allen said. We stood there in awed silence. "We should probably retrieve the innocence tomorrow, it's getting pretty late. Why don't we head back to the hotel?"

I smiled up at Allen, "Sure." I put Nom in my pocket as we walked in the direction in which both of the finders had gone, heading towards the lighted city. Crowds were walking swiftly up and down each sidewalk, some people even in the street while carriages waited impatiently for slow walkers. It was late, though the city was bright with lights from restaurants, hotels, clubs, and it was all so beautiful to me, in a weird way. We walked as fast as we could through the throng of people, and we neared a corner with three red lights on each side. Allen seemed to tense as we walked pass but I couldn't see why.

We were walking through the corner of red lights when I felt someone tug on my skirt. I turned sharply, almost running into the man who had done so. "How much are ya charging?" He asked, and I was confused by his words and also by the fact that he was speaking english.

"Excuse me?" I said absentmindedly, searching for Allen who seemed to have disappeared from my line of vision.

"How about fifty?" the man said, leaning closer. I didn't answer. "Okay, seventy? Eighty? A hundred is the highest I'm going." It was then that it hit me. He thought I was a prostitute. I was about to say something when I saw Allen. He walked over to me swiftly, and when the man spotted him he let go of my skirt. "Oh I see. You already have a customer." My cheeks flared as the man walked away.

"He is _not _my customer you perv!" I shouted after the man's retreating figure, shocked and embarrassed by the whole situation.

"What? What happened? Are you okay?" Allen said.

"Ugh. I'm fine," I said, sweeping a loose strand of hair from my eyes. "He thought I was..That I was a prostitute." I said, irritated beyond belief. Allen didn't say anything and I couldn't look at him. "Come on," I said exasperatedly, and we walked in silence to our hotel. Allen checked us in and got the key, and that's when I realized we were sharing a room. I guessed that Komui did this for everyone's missions, whether it was a guy and girl or not. Maybe except for Lenalee's missions though.

Allen opened the door and let me in, closing the door behind him. There were two double sized beds, each with a simple bedside table and a lamp. There was also a bathroom in the room and our luggage was on our beds. I collapsed onto the bed with my suitcase, sighing as Nom jumped out of my pocket to nuzzle my face. "I don't think I look like a prostitute..Damn the science department for making me such an extremely short skirt." I said jokingly, though I didn't really think I looked like a hooker. Allen laughed and I sat up, pulling my suitcase towards me. I grabbed a nightgown and hopped off my bed, heading for the bathroom to go change.

I changed into a dark red spaghetti strap night gown that came a few inches above my knees. When I walked out I put my uniform in my suitcase and placed it on the floor by my bed. Allen changed into a white sleeveless shirt and blue, white, and gray plaid pajama pants. I blushed as I sat on my bed. Allen was about to turn off the lamp when I broke the slightly awkward silence.

"Allen..I don't mean to be nosy but I've been wondering.. How did you get that scar of yours?" He looked up at me and smiled that gentle smile of his.

"No, it's fine I don't mind." He said, his smile faltering a little as he took a breath. "When I was younger, I was abandoned by my real parents because of my deformed arm." -He lifted his left arm sightly- "But I was taken in by Mana, my foster father... After Mana died I met the Earl for the first time, and I turned Mana into an akuma. He cursed me before I killed him. And that's when my master took me in and started training me to become an exorcist..." He trailed off and I wondered what on Earth could have happened between him and Cross. As I took in all of this, it pulled at my heart when he smiled at me. How could he still smile after that?

"Ah, Allen...I-I'm so sorry.." I said, not knowing what to say but wanting to say _something _to let him know that I cared, to comfort him. He smiled at me again.

"Don't worry, Dallas. I'm okay." I stared at him for a moment as he smiled.

"I don't see how you can still do that, Allen."

"Do what?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Smile." I said simply. He didn't answer me, but looked down. I looked at him in the heavy silence that followed. I had to break the silence. I thought for a moment, debating, before I finally made up my mind. I took a deep breath.

"On my tenth birthday, my sister gave me these bracelets." I started, averting my gaze to my wrists. "The same night, both my mother and sister were killed by an akuma..For the past four years I've been living with my father. I've never felt more like..myself than I do now, Allen." I said, looking up at him shyly and seeing that he was staring at me with a peculiar expression upon his face. "I'm so glad you found me and brought me to the Order.." I said quietly, my cheeks burning from embarrassment as I said it and knew what I really meant. '_I'm so glad I met you, Allen.._'

Allen smiled at me. "I'm glad I found you too, Dallas!" He said. My heart skipped a beat as he said it though I knew he didn't mean it in the way that I wanted him to. I gave him a small smile. "Hey, we should go to sleep now. It'd be best to get an early start tomorrow." He said.

"Okay.." I said quietly, and I snuggled under the quilt as Allen turned off the light. "Goodnight, Allen." I said quietly.

"Sweet dreams, Dallas."

* * *

_I was confused as to where I was, but when the smoke around me cleared, I could tell that I was at the Order. "Allen?" I called, and the figure in front of me turned around. It was Allen. He was smiling one second and then, as if instead of a second an eternity had passed, he changed completely. I walked towards him to get a better view. His silvery eyes were filled with a hatred that I couldn't comprehend. His face was set in a bitter mask, and I watched as he turned and walked away from me. _

_"Allen," I called, "Allen, wait! Don't go!" I was running after him, and somehow I knew that he was leaving the Order for good. He abruptly turned to face me when I reached him and he stared at me. The coldness in his eyes shocked me. "Allen...you can't leave." I said. _

_"Oh really?" He said, his voice dark and menacing. "I'll do whatever I please from now on." Allen was smiling coolly at me, and then he disappeared. "Allen!"_

_"I'm not Allen anymore..." _

My eyes flew open and I sat up quickly, only for my head to bash right into Allen's. "Augh!" I shouted, leaning back on my elbow, rubbing my forehead with the other hand. Allen was hunched over, his head in his hands. "I'm sorry Allen!" I said, wincing through the throbbing pain and wiping cold sweat from my brow. Why did I have that dream again? And why was I so shaken about it? What the hell could it mean?

"Ah, no.. it's okay," He said, standing up straight and closing one eye as he rubbed his head. He started laughing and I joined in. "I was just about to wake you up." He said, and I noticed he was already in his uniform.

"Oh..right!" I said, standing from the bed and grabbing my uniform out of my suitcase. I went into the bathroom to change, and when I came out Stephen and Destery were walking into our room. "Oh, um, hi.." I said as Destery grinned at me and waved, and Stephen smiled and nodded at me. I quickly put my gown into my case and smoothed out my skirt. I couldn't stop thinking about that dream. I had had it once before, on the train ride to Greece. Why did that dream frighten me so much? And why did I have it again? Was it supposed to mean something, or..? My thoughts went on and on as I tuned out the sound of Allen, Stephen, and Destery's voices.

"Dallas. Dallas!" I was brought out of my thoughts by someone shouting my name. I looked up at Stephen, Destery, and Allen.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly.

"We spotted some akuma heading towards the Eiffel Tower. We should hurry there." I shook my head quickly, dispelling the thoughts of my dream and clearing my head.

"Right. Okay." I said, then looked around. "...Where's Nom?" I exclaimed, before he flew from under the covers of my bed. I sighed in relief. "Okay...let's go." I grabbed Nom in my hands and gave him a small absentminded peck before placing him into my pocket. I trailed behind Destery and Stephen, walking closer to Allen as we came out of the room. Before we made it out of the hotel, I felt Allen gently take my arm and pull me aside. "Hmm?" I asked quizzically.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit..offish." He said. My eyes widened and a blush formed on my cheeks. I obviously couldn't tell Allen why I was acting offish, why I seemed upset thought it was so sweet of him to be concerned.

"Oh...No, no I'm okay." I said, giving him a small smile.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, seriously, I'm fine. I just...had a bad dream, but it's fine." I said, smiling again.

"Alright.." Allen said, unconvinced, before we started after the retreating figures of Stephen and Destery again. Everything was hectic as we rushed towards the tower, fighting with people who were running away. When we finally reached the tower my jaw dropped.

"Oh my God." I said, staring wide eyed and open-mouthed at the sight before me. There were three akuma around the Tower. One was a demonic looking teddy bear, the white porcelain face resting on the belly of the distorted, blood-covered akuma. It's eyes were red and it had sharp looking fangs, parts of it's fur and skin singed off showing the metal skeleton underneath, and it was floating above the tower, shooting the virus from its stomach. There was another akuma that looked a lot like a wolf, except distorted and awkward looking. It was creeping along the bottom of the tower, eating and throwing around pedestrians that passed. The last akuma was the one that scared me the most. It was a large rag doll, about the size of a small child, and sewn into the dark material of it's face were small red buttons for eyes and a stitched, unchanging smile. The porcelain mask of terror on every akuma I had seen so far was resting on the back of the doll, in between her massive wings. She had her dark arms crossed over her chest as she floated in front of the tower, rising and falling with each flap of her large wings and her yarn-like blond hair flying around her.

"Come on!" I heard Allen shout at me, and I stopped staring at the akuma to watch as he invoked his innocence. I did the same and ran towards the wolf-like akuma standing below the tower while Allen headed for the teddy bear. We dodged the purple beams they shot at us, and I kept glancing at the rag doll as I reached the wolf. She looked so innocent, which was what freaked me out so much. I barely dodged an attack from the wolf akuma and turned my attention towards it again. I tried to punch it multiple times, missing until I finally made contact. The akuma flew back, hitting the leg of the tower. While it was recovering from my blow I firmly planted my feet on the ground and spread my arms out in front of me, shooting the white beam of light at the akuma and in seconds it was successfully destroyed. I smiled triumphantly and looked up at the tower before me, noticing a greenish glow coming from the top of the tower. I hesitated before gripping the grate like beams in the leg of the tower and launching myself up, climbing as fast as I could towards the top.

I made sure not to look back or down as I climbed, sweat forming on my brow as I thought of how high up I was as I kept climbing. I closed my eyes as I climbed, tuning out the screams and noises of destruction as I got higher and higher off the ground. I opened my eyes as I made it to the large platform at the middle of the tower. I looked up at the rag doll which was now looking down at me with that stitched on smile plastered to her face. She stared at me for a moment before she turned back around, her hair swirling around her body before the tips of it flew off and zoomed toward villagers, sending the virus everywhere. I stared in horror as she did so. "Dallas!" I turned to the sound of my name. "Get the innocence!" Destery yelled all the way from the other side of the platform. Stephen had just climbed over the side of the platform when I looked over at destery. I wiped the sweat from my brow and gave him a tired smile, nodding. I turned around and stretched my fingers out before placing my hands on the metal, ready to start climbing again. I was about to do just that when something whizzed by my ear, barely missing my eye.

I looked up and saw that the rag doll akuma had thrown one of the razor-sharp tips of her hair at me. Then I stared, horrified as her stitched mouth slowly split open and a pool of blinding purple light started to collect in her mouth. Then there was a flash of light, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the virus to hit as I put myself in a defensive position, holding my shield up and bracing myself. Then before I knew it I was being pushed onto the ground by strong hands, and I opened my eyes to see Stephen had jumped in the way of the virus. "Stephen?" I shouted, crawling over to his crumpled body on the ground. The black stars were forming on his tan skin as he lifted his hand a bit to rest it on my hand. "Why on Earth would you sacrifice yourself for _me_..?" I shouted at him, trailing off as tears threatened my eyes.

"Lady Dallas.." He said quietly, "We need you exorcists to win this war. You need to fight for those of us who cannot.." He whispered, smiling slightly.

"Stephen!" I heard Destery's strangled cry as he ran toward us. "Stephen...Goddamn it, no..." he said as he fell to his knees, taking Stephens hand as tears poured mercilessly down his cheeks. I looked at the broken boy beside me and I could feel his pain. The pain of losing someone dear to you, someone you loved. Stephen's skin was now completely black, and few last words escaped his mouth as he turned to dust. "Stay strong."

A tear rolled down my cheek as I stared at the dust of what was left of Stephen, and Destery who was sobbing over it. "Fuck...fuck it.." Destery mumbled.

"I'm so sorry..." I whispered. I looked up and saw that Allen was fighting with the rag doll, and in her small hands was a green glow. "Destery." I said, and he looked up miserably. "Just remember.. Don't give in to the Earl's offer." I said quietly, standing and wiping the tears from my eyes as I launched myself onto the grid of the tower again, climbing as quickly as I could to the very top where Allen and the rag doll were fighting.

I made it to the tip of the tower but there was no platform so I had to stay latched onto the side. I looked down and my knees got shaky. "Damn it." I said through gritted teeth, closing my eyes and trying to get a grip on myself.

"Dallas," Allen shouted from over his shoulder. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and nodding at Allen as I opened my eyes again, stretching my arms forward and watching as the beam of light hit the akuma. She didn't disappear, but was only drawn back as the beam of light hit her. Though she dropped the innocence which was what I was counting on. I threw myself from the tower and cupped the innocence in my hands, the feel of it sending chills down my spine. I closed my eyes as I fell, unnaturally calm as I heard Allen shout "Clown Belt!" before the akuma exploded, and he caught me in his arms. I looked up at his smiling face as the web-like strings of his innocence slowly lowered us to the ground.

When we reached the ground I stepped out of his arms, blushing, and held the innocence close to my face. I stared into the greenish glow, "It's...so pretty.." I said dreamily, mesmerized by the raw innocence that I held in my hands. I then looked up at Allen and smiled at him for a second before my smile faltered and turned into a frown.

"Allen..Stephen saved me. He jumped in the way of the virus for me.." I said, biting my lip. Allen looked down at me, shocked, before his expression turned grim. He didn't say anything, for there was nothing to be said as tears stung at my eyes.

"...We need to get back to the Order." he said quietly, though I knew he was holding back something. Anger maybe, I thought.

I nodded, "Destery is most likely still at the middle platform.." I said. Allen nodded, a stoic expression upon his face as we made our way to the tower again in silence. "I'll go get him.." I said, starting to climb up when Allen stopped me.

"I'll go too." He said, and we scaled the tower side by side in silence. Destery sat at the same spot I had left him in, virtually motionless and staring off into the distance. I walked over to him and tapped his shoulder, and he turned to look at me abruptly.

"Destery," I said, "We need to go back to the Order now.." I looked down at him with sympathetic eyes. I knew what he was feeling, and I hated seeing someone else suffer from that relentless pain. I held out my hand and he took it, standing up. I gave him a small smile before taking my hand from his. Then I turned to Allen, taking a deep breath.

"We should go now..Komui said we could leave whenever we needed to," Allen said, and I nodded at him before we climbed down to the ground, Destery trailing behind us.

We then gathered our luggage and checked out of the hotel, and I sighed as we boarded the train and sat in our cabin. I looked out the window as I thought over everything. I was so glad that I got to spend so much alone time with Allen and really got to know him better, but I was exhausted and was glad to be going home. I also wanted to tell Ashley and Raikou about my reoccurring dream, and about that guy thinking I was a prostitute…_humph._ Nom silently rested on my shoulder and I turned my head to kiss the small golem as the scenery flew by, smiling to myself as I wondered what people's reactions were to my message.


	24. Chapter 24

**Yaaaayyyy! FINALLY, after 3 months, chapter 24 ^^ Please leave a review and stuffs, it always means a lot to us ^^ Anyways, please enjoy chapter 24 :3**

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**Chapter 24**

_~Ashley~_

Lenalee and I were a couple miles away from Yekaterinburg. We had spent three days traversing across Russia's freezing terrain, and I couldn't wait to get to someplace warm. I swear that I am never going to go to Russia again. It's too cold!

We had spent the past three days moving as fast as possible across Russia to get to our destination while staying at hostels along the way. While in Perm, Lenalee and I had bought some warmer clothes that better suited the unforgiving cold than our uniforms. I had bought a long black trench coat, but that barely helped keep out the cold Russian winds.

We walked in silence. It was too cold to talk. I could barely stop my teeth from chattering long enough to say anything. I looked up to the sky out of boredom and noticed the pure white sky had begun to drop small, delicate white snowflakes. I smiled. I loved snow. Despite the fact that it's cold, I love it. It turns the world into a beautiful landscape of ice and crystal.

"We should be arriving at the city soon." Lenalee said, drawing my attention away from the sky to look at her. Unable to speak due to my chattering teeth I nodded my head in comprehension.

A few seconds later I was able to see the outline of tall, golden domed buildings on the horizon. Lenalee and I looked at each other before breaking out into a run towards the city. As we ran I silently prayed that we weren't too late. Komui had said that the innocence had already been found and was in danger of being snatched by an akuma and we therefore had to hurry. We've had no contact with anyone in Yekaterinburg the whole time we've been in Russia, and that really worried me.

The city began to grow bigger and bigger as we approached it and my breaths began to come out in short, heavy gasps. The cold air stung my throat. The arched entrance to the city finally came into view. Once we were under the arch of the entrance Lenalee and I abruptly stopped and hunched over with our hands on our knees as we tried to catch our breath. It was then that I noticed how unnaturally quiet everything was. There were no sounds of people talking or walking through the city, or children laughing and playing. There was nothing but an unsettling silence that made my heart freeze with fear. Alert, I stood up straight and wearily walked into the city. Lenalee followed behind me.

Together we walked through the desolate streets and alleyways of the city, searching for some sign of life and hoping to find the finders and the innocence. We opened the doors of shops and homes but we found nothing but empty rooms that had been turned upside down by what I assumed was a fight. We exited yet another shop when I asked "What do we do now? There's obviously no one in this city and the finders are no where to be found!" I was on the verge of tears I was so distraught by the situation.

"I don't know." She answered, looking just as upset as I was. "But we can't stop looking for them. They have to be here somewhere."

All of the sudden a scream and the sound of gunshots broke through the silence. Instinctively I pulled out my dagger and ran toward the scream.

"Ashley, wait!" Lenalee yelled after me.

My heart was racing as I ran through the narrow alleyways when I saw a man dressed in a finder's uniform frantically stumble into the alleyway with a look of absolute terror on his face. It looked like he was running from something, and I had a pretty good idea of what it was. He fell to the ground and when he noticed me relief flooded his face. "Have you come to save us miss exorcist?" the man asked hopefully.

"Yes," I said as I quickly ran toward him. Just as I had reached the finder, the dark shadow of a giant object passed over me and in a matter of inescapable seconds a level one akuma appeared and stood in between me and the finder. The next thing I knew I heard the sound of gunshots and the screams of the terrified finder mingled in with screams of my own. The sound of the finder's screams made me cringe. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. All I could do was stand and watch as the black pentacles began to form on the finder's skin. The finder stretched his arm out toward me as his final words passed through his trembling lips. "Help….Me." The finder said, his eyes pleading. He then went limp as his body began to crumble and turn to dust.

I bit my lip as tears began to flow down my face. I was so traumatized that I wasn't paying any attention to the danger I was in. All I could think about was the finder's horrified expression and his agonized screams. _'He was right there in front of me, and I couldn't save him. He was right there! Why wasn't I able to save him?' _I thought as I began to shake from the shock I was feeling. Through my shock I faintly heard the sound of maniacal laughter, and I barely noticed the akuma that was right behind me.

"Ashley, look out!" Lenalee screamed as she knocked me out of the way of the akuma's deadly fire. The force of my body hitting the ground brought me back to reality. Anger and rage replaced my sorrow as I hastily stood up and activated my innocence. I then approached the akuma, and with one clean swipe of my sword the akuma split in half before exploding into dust.

I stared blankly at the evaporating dust of the akuma as my anger slowly diminished, only to be replaced by tears. Lenalee then walked over to me and I looked at her and said, "Thank you. If you hadn't knocked me out of the way I'd be dead."

She smiled, "No problem."

I then told her about the finder and her eyes grew wide. "We'd better hurry! He can't be the only finder left and that can't be the only akuma here!" and almost as if on cue a horde of akuma appeared out of no where and surrounded us. Lenalee and I stood back to back and I raised my sword, ready to attack.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready," she answered. And just as the akuma began to fire their guns, we attacked. Wildly, I ran slicing my blade through every akuma I passed, careful to dodge the bullets they fired. It all felt so effortless. Like this was what I was meant to do. My sword wasn't an unbearable weight like you'd expect it to be. Instead it almost felt like it was a part of me. It was practically weightless. I ran my sword through another akuma as I looked up at Lenalee. She was floating on the air, kicking akuma with her dark boots. I figured she could take care of the remaining akuma and ran off to search for the missing finders and innocence.

I ran through a dim alleyway. The only noise being that of Lenalee's dark boots colliding with metal and the echo of the akuma's guns. Everything else was dead silence. It was an unnerving silence that was eerie and put me on edge, and as I ran further and further from Lenalee and the akuma, that was all I heard.

I frantically looked around, searching for some sign of the finders. 'They have to be here somewhere,' I thought. I then heard something fall and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Frightened, I turned around and looked behind me, only to see the empty alleyway.

Confused and curious, I meticulously searched for the source of the noise. I moved quietly as I listened intently for some intimation as to where the noise came from. It was when I had passed a cracked white bricked building that I heard voices. Warily, I placed my ear against the door as I listened to the inhabitants' conversation.

"Where are the exorcists?" A shaky voice whispered.

"They should be here any minute," said another quavering voice, "but I don't know how much longer we can last."

That was all I needed to hear to know that these were the finders. Unsure of what to do I hesitantly opened the door, slowly revealing the five terrified finders that resided within this worn, faded building. They stared at me wide-eyed as relief flooded their worn, tired faces dispersing their fears.

"Ummm…" I said as I nervously bit my bottom lip in uncertainty.

"You finally came!" exclaimed the finders.

"Yes," I smiled faintly before I thought I might as well get to the point, "Where's the innocence?"

"Here," said a finder as he pulled out a brightly glowing object from his pocket and handed it to me. "Thank you," I quickly mumbled. The innocence was so beautiful. Looking at it, I couldn't help but feel both mystified and at peace. The moment the innocence made contact with my skin a pleasant warmth filled me, making me shiver. I smiled. "It's so beautiful," I whispered.

"Yes it is," replied the finder who had given me the innocence, "I'm Kevin by the way. Thank you for coming for us." I looked up from the innocence to Kevin before smiling, "Your welcome." Kevin had short, sandy colored hair and blue-gray eyes. His face was young and strong and he looked like he was maybe eighteen or nineteen.

"What should we do now?" asked Kevin.

"Well now that I've found you guys and have the innocence, we should probably go find Lenalee."

Kevin opened his mouth to say something, but before he could he was interrupted by a loud explosion as three level two akuma broke into the finder's refuge. Shocked, I stood stock still as I stared at the horrifying akuma. They were the most grotesque and terrifying creatures I had ever seen. One of the level twos was a dark fairy that had tattered wings and solid glassy black eyes that looked almost alien. The second level two was a baby doll that was cracked and was missing an eye, just looking at it sent shivers down my spine. The third and final level two akuma was the scariest thing I had ever encountered in my entire life. It was a super fat clown, whose body seemed to resemble an obese diamond. The clown's make up was smeared and it had yellow soulless eyes and sharp jagged teeth that were twisted into a smile of malevolence. It had disheveled red hair and long unkempt finger nails. Seeing it made me want to turn around and run away. In fact, the fact that I was going to have to battle three level two akuma made me want to run too. But I couldn't do that. Not when the finders were depending on me to save them. The memory of the dying finder quickly came back to me. The terrified look in his eyes. His helplessness. My uselessness. No, I couldn't run now! I had to save them! I couldn't let more people die because I was too weak to be an exorcist.

The baby doll began firing deadly bullets as the fairy's nails turned into thorns which she threw at the finders, causing them to scramble to safety as they frantically tried to activate their talismans. The fairy akuma smiled and laughed hysterically at the weak finders, which really pissed me off.

Anger surged through my veins, giving me strength and courage as I activated my innocence and attacked the obnoxious fairy. My sword hit her shoulder but it barely left a scratch.

_'Shoot,' _I thought, _'this is going to be harder than I thought it would be.'_

The fairy, shocked by the sting of my innocence, turned around to look at me; her solid black eyes sent shivers down my spine.

"Oh look, it's an exorcist!" she giggled excitedly.

All three akuma surrounded me, leaving the finders temporarily alone.

"This will be fun!" said the fairy.

"Yes, very fun! Kill the exorcist! Kill the exorcist!" The baby doll chanted excitedly, making me shudder with both fear and disgust. The fat clown said nothing; it just continued to smile stupidly.

Then, smiling maliciously, the fairy and baby doll began to attack me simultaneously. I tried to block and dodge as many of the bullets and thorns as I possibly could, and as I did I wondered why the clown wasn't attacking me. It was then that the clown began to do something very odd. He put his palms together as if he were praying and then in a very small, quick movement he pulled his hands apart and let them collide together, emitting a giant shock wave of energy that knocked me to the ground. It felt like I had been hit by a train, the wave of energy was so strong. Moaning, I got back up onto my feet only to be knocked down again by another one of that stupid clown's attacks.

I began to become discouraged, for the whole scenario was absolutely crazy! There was no way I could beat three level two akuma by myself, especially with the fat clown's lovely attack knocking me down every five minutes! Shoot, I didn't even know if I could beat one.

Throughout the whole fight the only thing I could do was concentrate on not getting killed by the relentless fire of the akuma's weapons. Not once had I made a single blow to any of the level twos. Where was Lenalee? I needed her help now more than ever.

I blocked another round of bullets before spinning around and attempting to hit at least one of the akuma. They laughed at the futile effort. Their belittling laughter really ticked me off! I was so mad at both their arrogance and my lack of strength that my rage began to take over me. It drove all my actions and attacks, and controlled everything I did, causing me to move in a blur of movement.

The akuma were surprised by my sudden outburst of fury, and I was even able to make contact with one of them, but the akuma were still moving too fast and were too strong for either my rage or my innocence to do any damage.

I was beginning to grow tired and it seemed as if it was pointless to continue fighting. I was covered in bruises and scratches from all the times the clown's attack had knocked me to the ground and the akuma seemed to be unbeatable. I had no idea how I was going to kill these akuma. I was so frustrated I thought I was going to cry, and the akuma's constant snickering and condescending laughter didn't help at all.

I was about to attempt to attack the fat clown when one of the dark fairy's thorns grazed across my right arm leaving a long bloody gash that ran from my elbow to my wrist. I screamed in agony as I dropped my innocence and clutched my throbbing arm. Tears of pain ran down my face. My pain quickly turned into relentless anger. Anger that was stronger than any other rage I had ever felt. Ignoring my throbbing arm, I grabbed my sword that had begun to glow a silvery blue, illuminating the once faint engravings of Saint George killing a dragon, and raised it out in front of me. It felt like something was controlling me, telling me what to do. _"Is my innocence doing this?" _I wondered. My eyes glowed darkly with malice as the words that would help me came into my mind. "Saint's Sword: Defender of Heaven!" I yelled and as soon as the words left my mouth the silvery-blue light illuminating my sword began to collect and gather itself into a western dragon that mirrored the one on my sword. _"Oh my God!" _I thought, _"A frickin dragon just came out of my sword! Holy shit! It's a freaking dragon!"_

It was breathtakingly beautiful! I couldn't take my eyes off of it. _"Attack," _I thought, and as soon as I thought it the dragon raised its head and drew breath before breathing white flame at the three horrified akuma. Shocked, I stared at the whole scene, opened mouthed, as the akuma writhed in pain as their skin began to melt away, leaving behind twisted, unrecognizable forms that were once the akuma. They were not yet defeated, though, and as my dragon began to slowly fade back into my sword I approached the akuma. I watched as the burnt form that used to be the fat clown attempted to clap and unleash its attack, before dealing my final blow. My sword was alight with a blue flame and this time when I struck the defenseless akuma my sword slashed right through them as easily as if they were butter. The akuma then exploded into dust that disappeared into nothingness.

I stared at my innocence in pure astonishment. I couldn't believe what just happened. How was it possible that I had the strength to defeat three level two akuma and summon a dragon? How could I do that when I couldn't even save that one finder?

"Ashley?" I heard Lenalee call, bringing me out of my thoughts. I turned around and saw Lenalee running toward me, her face filled with awe.

"That was amazing! I can't believe you did that all by yourself!"

"Neither can I, thanks." I replied as I faintly smiled before collapsing to the ground. I was exhausted and my arm was aching so badly. It felt like it was on fire. _"Summoning that dragon must have used a lot of my energy," _I thought as I closed my eyes.

"Ashley!" Lenalee exclaimed in alarm.

"I'm okay," I whispered with my eyes still closed, "I'm just resting. Here's the innocence," I weakly reached into my shirt pocket and handed it to Lenalee before I lost consciousness and everything went black.

* * *

When I woke up I was lying on a cushioned seat, and the sound of a train's engine could clearly be heard. Confused I quickly sat up, but I soon relaxed as memories of the epic battle with the akuma flooded over me, dispersing my confusion. Goodness, I still found it hard to believe that I was capable of doing all that I had done. I looked at my right arm and noticed that it had been bandaged. The pain wasn't as acute as before but it still throbbed a little.

Curiously I looked around and realized that I must be on a train, but where was Lenalee? I stood up and opened the cabin's door and saw Lenalee walking down the train's hall with food in her hands.

"Good, you're awake" she said smiling, "I was beginning to worry about you. Are you hungry?" I nodded my head and she handed me an apple.

Once we were both seated in our cabin, Lenalee began asking me questions about all that had happened after we had separated and I told her. She listened to me and seemed completely surprised by all that I had done. When I had finished telling her what had happened Kevin appeared in the doorway of our cabin.

"Miss exorcists, I would like to thank both of you, on behalf of all the finders, for saving us." He smiled and then quickly walked away without even giving me a chance to respond. I looked at Lenalee and smiled. For once I felt like I had truly done something right in my life. Maybe this was where I was supposed to be. Maybe I was meant to be an exorcist. Maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out right.


	25. Chapter 25

Hey guys! Dallas here :3 Just saying hi because in this fic I haven't really "introduced" chapters like in others. This one was written by Lisa. Hope you like it, and reviews are quite welcome! ^^

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Chapter 25

_~Raikou~_

Miranda and Krory stepped off the train, and I followed behind. The air was cold and crisp. I could see steam rising from my mouth.

"We should probably find a hotel for tonight." I mentioned. Miranda and Krory nodded in agreement. We left the station and headed for the streets. It was noon and the streets were left mostly deserted. We were able to find a hotel in a short amount of time, although it wasn't the finest.

The owner looked like he was dozing. I shut the door with a loud thud, and it seemed to wake him up.

"Exorcists ?" the badges on Krory and Miranda's uniforms shone brightly. "I'll have a room for you shortly." He fumbled to get the key and placed it on the desk. "Enjoy your stay." he said, bowing. I felt like I recognized him. He had long, messy brown hair and bright red eyes that looked sad, but I couldn't put my finger on who he was.

I picked up the key and we headed to our room. It had two single beds. The two exorcists took the beds while I stayed huddled in a corner. "Are you alright over there?" Miranda asked.

"I'm fine." I replied. There were extra blankets and pillows so I was able to make myself fairly the warmth of the blankets and the long day, I could feel my eyelids become heavier and soon I was asleep.

* * *

I was back in my old house. Everything was neat and tidy like it had been before. I saw my Dad. He had a smile on his face. "Dad!" I ran to him with tears forming in my eyes. He put a hand on my cheek. He still had a smile, but it was eerie. His hand began to grow hot, and it felt like my skin was burning. I gasped, falling back, my cheek throbbing. I looked up again, and my house was in flames. My father wasn't there either, but was replaced with an akuma. I had no where to run and the akuma had me at gunpoint. I opened my mouth, letting out a blood-curdling scream.

* * *

I was now wide awake, still shaking. I looked around to see Krory and Miranda were also awake.

"Are you all right?" they both asked worriedly.

"I'm fi-" Before I had time to say the rest, we heard another scream coming from the town. We rushed out of the hotel in desperation.

We came to a back ally and saw a hoard of akuma, and behind all of them was a figure. He was dressed in rags and was very skinny.

I noticed that the man was already covered in black stars as he reached out, seeing us, and then disappeared.

Miranda gasped and Krory was already on the move. In an instant he had already sucked the akumas dry and they exploded into dust.

_'I can't believe we couldn't save that hobo,' _I thought with regret. Miranda and Krory were obviously upset about it too. We were walking back to the hotel when a muffled voice shouted out from a building which looked like some sort of medical center.

"Don't you see! You could bring him back just by calling his name!" with that Krory broke down the door. Inside was a shady looking business man and an old woman. "Excorcists! I wasn't expecting this.." The man snapped his fingers and akuma came swarming in. "HA, have fun." he said, running for the entrance. The woman was left in confusion.

"W-what about my husband?" she didn't seem to notice the number of akuma hovering close by.

"Raikou! Don't just stand there! Go after him!" Krory yelled, his hair standing on end.

I made my way out what was left of the door. The broker hadn't made it very far; he was pudgy and slow. I sprinted and pounced on him, knocking him over.

"Get off me you hag!" he shouted. I wrapped my hands around his neck with no sign of letting go.

"M-mercy... I cant breath!" he coughed. I held this mans life in my hands and it gave me an overwhelming feel of power."Please..," he rasped. I loosened my grip. I could hear him as he desperately inhaled. I suddenly gripped his neck even harder then before so he couldn't catch his breath. A smile crept up my face as I sat strangling this man to death. He deserved it..after all.

"Raikou!" I heard Miranda shout.

"What are you doing?" Krory yelled, running to me. He grabbed my hood and pulled me from the man. "What's wrong with you? He was about to die! He may be a soul broker but he's still human."

I looked down to see the man unconscious, ugly bruises starting to form on his neck.

"I'm sorry..." Krory dropped me. I looked at him apologetically and he shot me a look of disgust and anger. Miranda also looked disturbed.

"We should leave can bring the soul broker to the Order and they can decide what to do with him." Krory slung the broker over his shoulder and walked off without another word, Miranda stuck close behind, and I trailing them further back, head hung low.


	26. Chapter 26

This one was written by me. :3 (I think I'm gonna put who it's written by in ever chapter just so you guys don't forget that this fic is written by me, Ashley, and Lisa.) Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter, I had a bit of trouble with it. ^^; Please R&R! :3

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Chapter 26

_~Dallas~_

Me and Allen walked into the Order and were greeted with smiles and waves. It was such a warm welcome and I couldn't help but smile at every finder and scientist that we walked past. "So, um, what do we do now?" I asked Allen as I followed him, not knowing where we were going but not really caring.

"Well, we should probably bring the innocence to Komui." He smiled.

"Oh, right! I knew that." I said, blushing slightly. We walked up many flights of stairs to get to Komui's office, and as we emerged from the stairwell I caught sight of a familiar blue-eyed blond-haired exorcist walking with Lenalee. "Hey..Ashley! Lenalee! Hey!" I called, waving at them and rushing towards them with Allen behind me. Ashley and Lenalee smiled. It was so nice to see them again.

"Hey Dallas! Hi Allen," Ashley said, laughing.

"Hi guys," Lenalee smiled, "We were just about to bring Komui the innocence we retrieved."

"Oh, we were too. We could walk together, if you'd want." Allen suggested. We all agreed.

"Oh! By the way..." I said as we started for Komui's office again. I rustled through my pockets. "Have you met Nom?" I held the golem in the palm of my hand, smiling lovingly down at him.

"That's Nom?" Ashley asked. I smiled excitedly and nodded.

Nom flew from my hand, circling Ashley, Lenalee, and Allen's heads before coming to rest on my shoulder. Everyone laughed. "Isn't he just adorable? I love him!" I said, patting his little head fondly.

"He really is!" Ashley agreed as we rounded a corner. Just as we did I saw a bobbing pink head walk into Komui's office. Before the door shut both me and Ashley exclaimed, "Raikou!"

Her head hesitantly popped out from the door, and when she spotted us her hazel eyes lit up. Ashley and I rushed over to her. "Hey Raikou!" I said, and we all filed into Komui's office where I saw Kanda, Lavi, Krory, and Miranda waiting. Komui was no where in sight. _'Oh, I wonder where he went off to,' _I thought absentmindedly.

"Beansprout!" Lavi called cheerfully, bounding over to Allen and chatting with him excitedly. I couldn't help but giggle at his childlike behavior. Everyone said hello before I couldn't help myself anymore. I just _had _to talk about the past few days' events.

"Ashley! Raikou! Oh my gosh!" I started excitedly, launching into conversation.

"What!" They both said, laughing.

"Paris. Is. Amazing! It's so pretty! The architecture was just so graceful, and pretty, and ooh! I couldn't get over how beautiful the whole place was. The Eiffel Tower was pretty stunning too. Well, that is, when it's not melting." That seemed to grab everyone's attention, and when I started telling them all the details about my mission, a group had formed around me. Except for Kanda, of course, who was leaning against the far wall with a scowl on his face, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. I told them everything. When I mentioned getting Nom, Ashley cut in.

"Oh that reminds me! I have my golem too." She said, rustling through her pockets until she produced a golem identical to Nom. She held it up proudly. "I'll name her...Mimp." she said, before we all laughed.

"Mimp? That's adorable." Raikou said, smiling wide.

"I know, right?" Ashley replied. She smiled at the little golem. Nom flew from my shoulder to circle Mimp. The two golems flew around in circles and I couldn't help but smile and laugh at the cute display.

"Aw, I think they like each other." I said.

Raikou pouted. "I don't have one... But that's okay I have this bad ass phone on my back." She gestured to the metal backpack on her shoulders.

"Whoa, that's a phone?" I asked, staring at the backpack.

"Mmmhmm. It's also a talisman-shield thing."

"That's so cool!" Ashley said. I agreed and Raikou nodded happily.

"Oh so.. where was I..Oh yeah! So I met this cute guy named Destery, hes a finder, and..." I continued on with the story of our mission. I skipped the part about Allen's past, and decided to tell Ashley and Raikou that when everyone wasn't listening. Even if they already knew, I just found that it would get pretty awkward, not to mention it would be rude, to discuss it so openly. Everyone _ooh_ed when I told them of the level two akuma and how I had to climb the Eiffel Tower to get the innocence, but a grim silence fell upon us when I mentioned Stephen's death. After a moment of silence, "Oh..so I almost forgot the most exciting part." I said sarcastically.

"More exciting than jumping off of the Eiffel Tower?" Ashley asked. I scoffed.

"Yeah. _Way _more exciting." I said. This got everyone's attention again. I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked a hip. "Some guy thought I was a hooker." I said as I rolled my eyes, annoyed.

Raikou laughed. "What? Wow..that's funny." Ashley and Lenalee started laughing and Lavi was chuckling.

I pouted and stomped my foot childishly, my cheeks burning. "It's not that funny!" But I couldn't hide the smile that tugged on the corners of my lips, and before I knew it I was chuckling too.

"So Ashley, what happened with your and Lenalee's mission?" Raikou asked when everyone stopped laughing. Ashley smiled and bounced up and down excitedly.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! My sword! A freakin dragon came out my sword and it was so awesome and, and-!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ashley, calm down." I laughed. "Now start from the beginning." She nodded her head and took a calming breath, though I could tell she was very eager to get to the dragon-sword-whatever the hell she was talking about.

"When me and Lenalee went into the city it was deserted. We couldn't find the finders anywhere. We looked everywhere we could but there was still no one. Then..well, I found a finder on the ground crawling towards me.." She shook her head, closing her eyes. "Well, anyway, long story short, we found the finders and retrieved the innocence. But it wasn't long until three akuma appeared. They were so freaky! One looked like an evil fairy, and one was like a decaying baby doll...but the one that scared me the most was a huge, fat, obese-looking clown." When Ashley said this I couldn't help but laugh.

"Obese clown?" I said.

"Yes! It wasn't funny at all! It had tiny little hands and it clapped and had freakin' sonic waves that pushed me to the ground!"

Me and Raikou looked at each other as Ashley imitated a small clapping motion before we all started laughing.

"Now what was that about a dragon?" Lavi cut in, stopping our laughter. Ashley smiled.

"Yes! Okay so I was getting beaten by the akuma pretty badly, and I had no idea where Lenalee was and I was getting so angry...and then these words just came to me, and a glowing, moonlit dragon emitted from my sword and engulfed the akuma in its light. It was so, freaking, amazing!" Everyone's jaws dropped.

"Ashley. That is so cool!" I said.

"I know right!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Let me see your dagger for a second," Allen said curiously, and Ashley adjusted her skirt a bit to take her dagger from the strap on her leg before handing it to Allen.

Everyone gathered around the dagger and gasped in surprise. Her dagger's blade looked almost singed with glossy silver flame designs etched along both sides, surrounding the image of St. George killing a dragon.

"Ashley, this is so cool!" Lenalee said. Ashley took her dagger from Allen's hands and admired it for a second, running her hand smoothly over the warmed metal. She put it back in the hilt around her leg.

"You must have reached a higher synchronization point with your innocence," Allen said. This annoyed me a bit. Was I doing something wrong? I mean, I've used my innocence probably as many times as Ashley...was I just not making any emotional connection with my innocence? I looked down at my bracelets, the glow of the vine design pulsing brightly. _What do I have to do to get closer to you, innocence? _

My thoughts were pushed aside when I heard Ashley ask, "So Raikou, what happened on your mission?"

Raikou shifted uncomfortably as the attention of the group turned to her. "Well there was this broker guy we busted..He was basically selling souls to the Earl and we brought him back here. In fact we had just brought him to Komui and he told us to wait in his office when we saw you guys.

"There are people who do that? Brokers, I mean." Ashley said.

"Yes. We find them occasionally, there are not many of them out there. But it's mostly people who desperately need or want money who do it." Krory said. H glanced at Raikou and there seemed to be something unsaid that had gone on. I would have to ask Raikou about it later. An awkward silence had begun to draw between the group, and Miranda fidgeted nervously.

At that moment Komui walked into the room with an uncharacteristically serious expression upon his face, which took us all aback. "Dallas?" He called sternly, and my stomach dropped as he spotted me. I shrunk in my place and gulped as everyone's eyes focused on me. _Uh-oh. What did I do? _I tried to avoid Komui's piercing stare as he motioned for me to come to him. I walked in front of him and looked up nervously, biting my lower lip.

"Um..Y-yes..?" I said quietly, stuttering. Komui was really freaking me out. I had never seen him so serious, not to mention so _scary _before. He adjusted his glasses and let out a heavy sigh.

"Do you know what golems are used for?" He said, and I loosened up a bit, realizing what I was being scolded for, though my cheeks were still burning from the embarrassment of the public display. I was about to answer but Komui cut me off. "Golems are used mainly for emergencies, and to communicate with exorcists whom you are on missions with. They are not for silly little jokes and greetings. Do you understand this young lady?"

My face was bright red as I heard almost everyone behind me chuckling softly. I gulped and looked up into Komui's face. "I..yes. I'm sorry, Komaoi. It.. probably won't happen again." Komui raised a brow at me and I shifted uncomfortably under his glare.

"Komui, here's the innocence we retrieved." Krory said to break the heavy, awkward silence that had begun to grow. Komui's glare turned into that more familiar, goofy smile I knew as he took the glowing material from Krory's hands. Allen and Lavi handed Komui the innocence they held in their hands as well and as Komui spotted Lenalee his eyes lit up and he opened his arms, grabbing her in a tight hug.

"Lenalee! My little girl is getting so big! Her birthday is only a few days away! Oh dear Lenalee you're going to love the ball I've decided to put on for you!" He exclaimed.

"Erm..Brother...I can't breathe." Lenalee squeaked. Komui gasped and let her go, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into her violet eyes intently.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, brother, don't worry so much. I'm fine!" She laughed, "Now what's this about a ball..?" She asked. Komui twirled around in a cirled with clasped hands.

"Yes! A masquerade ball! A big, lovely ball just for my Lenalee!" He exclaimed. Me, Raikou, and Ashley looked at each other, shock displayed on our faces. _A ball...? That sounds so fun! _"There will be plenty of food of course, a live orchestra, many dancing and such! You must be dressed formally! And you will all have a _wonderful _time! All of you must come to celebrate Lenalee's birthday, or..." Komui stopped twirling in a circle to glare at all of us, his stare resting on Kanda a bit longer than the rest of us. "...There will be some consequences."

Lenalee twitched at his words. "Brother, what did I tell you about going over the top?" She said sternly.

"But..But Lenalee..." Komui whined, getting on his knees and pleading with her.

"Stop it! Okay, fine. We'll have this masquerade...It sounds..fun." She smiled reluctantly and Komui popped back up to his feet, giving her a quick hug before running out of the office, screaming for Reever along the way. Ashley and Raikou moved over to where me and Lenalee were standing.

"A ball sounds so fun!" Ashley exclaimed, smiling.

"Yeah! Oh, I'm so excited. We should all go dress shopping together. You too, Miranda!" I said. Miranda looked at me, shocked.

"What? Me..?"

"Yes you, silly. We're going to go dress shopping together for the ball. Not now of course, maybe tomorrow or something?"

"Tomorrow sounds like a good idea," Lenalee said, smiling happily. Raikou seemed indifferent.

"Could I come along?" Lavi said, grinning.

"Um, how about no." I said, smiling sweetly at him. He gave me an expression of mock disappointment and I chuckled.

"Raikou, aren't you excited for the ball..?" Ashley asked Raikou, who had been silent for some time.

"Eh...Dancing isn't my thing." Raikou said.

"Oh, who cares! Seems to me like parties in general are your thing. And it's a big party!" I said, trying to lift her spirits. She gave me a small devilish smile.

"I guess you're right." she replied, and I laughed at her expression. Just then Komui came rushing back into his office.

"Oh! Ashley and Dallas! You have new uniforms! Every one else has already received theirs. We would have given them to you sooner but there were still some kinks we had to work out. Go meet Johnny in the science department to try them on and such~!" He exclaimed before disappearing into the hall again. I stood there in shock. New uniforms? I mean yeah, it was cool and all to have new uniforms, but so soon? I turned to Ashley who looked extremely upset.

"What's wrong Ashley?" Krory asked. A pink blush formed on her cheeks.

"I..I don't want a new uniform!" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What? Why not?" Raikou asked.

"Well..I don't want to have to give up the slit in my skirt! I love this thing!" she whined. I laughed at her words.

"Ashley...really?" I said, raising a brow.

"Yes!" She said, stomping one of her feet onto the floor.

"Aw, Ashley!" I said, laughing. "Calm down. I'm sure you'll get a slit in your next uniform too!" Lavi and Allen were chuckling and I heard Kanda sigh in annoyance as Ashley pouted.

"No..! Hmph.." She said.

"Oh come on Ashley." Raikou said, "Stop complaining."

"No..." Ashley mumbled, and I grabbed her arm, leading her out of Komui's office. Raikou followed behind us. I stopped and waited for her to catch up, grabbing her arm too and we walked towards the science department. Allen and Lavi went to their rooms as well as Miranda, Krory, Lenalee, and Kanda. I assumed that they were changing into their new uniforms. I smiled as we reached the science department and were greeted by waves and smiles of hello.

I searched for Johnny and found him at his very cluttered desk, searching through papers and boxes and bags and all sorts of other miscellaneous things. "Hi Johnny." I said, smiling. He looked up and adjusted his round glasses.

"Oh, hi girls! I have your uniforms here, just hold on a second.." He searched around and after a moment he produced two bags from under his desk, giving one to me and one to Ashley. "Sorry for the inconvenience.." He said hesitantly as he spotted Ashley's bitter expression, "But when you arrived at the Order we were making these uniforms. We knew we needed to give you something so we just gave you the first uniforms. These uniforms should be much lighter, more comfortable and durable, and easier to move around in. I hope they come to your liking. Just head back to the cubicle with the curtain to change, so that if anything fits wrong or something like that you can tell me right away."

"Thanks!" I said happily, walking to the curtained cubical once more. "Ashley, you should change first." I said. "Let's see if you'll hate it as much as you assume you will." I said, smiling. Ashley sighed heavily and walked into the cubicle. Me and Raikou waited outside, and I tapped my foot impatiently as I heard Ashley rustling behind the curtain. After a few minutes of anticipated silence, the curtain was drawn back and I gasped in delight at Ashley's new uniform. It was so incredibly cool! Raikou smiled wide as she took in the uniform too. Ashley was smiling reluctantly.

The style of the uniform was a lot more modern. The upper part of her uniform was laced with silver zippers and white dashing designs, the embroidered cross a bit more fancy than that of her old uniform. The collar was popped up and a large zipper ran down from there to her waist where a white and black belt with pouches held her skirt. Her new skirt was the highlight of the uniform. It was black, with white on the egdes, and knee-length. There were two slits on either side of the skirt that showed off her legs, and I had a feeling that Ashley was extremely happy about that. There were shorty shorts underneath the skirt so that nothing was showing, and the holster for her dagger was strapped around her right thigh. The sleeves of her uniform were long, covered with ever more zippers, and had black gloves attached to them. She had high-heeled boots that came just below her knee that had large zippers running vertical on both sides as well.

"Ashley..That is one awesome uniform." Raikou said. Ashley looked giddy and smiled wide.

"I know! I love it! Oh my gosh!"

"Wow Ashley..I'm speechless." I said, teasing, smiling playfully.

"Pffsh. Go try on yours now, Dallas." Ashley said, laughing.

"Fine then. I shall." I smiled and walked into the cubicle, which looked just about the same as I had last seen it. Though it seemed a bit more tidy, less papers all over and more in big stacks. On the desk there was a picture frame. Curious, I leaned over to examine the black and white picture contained inside. It was a picture of Johnny and another man. He was a really big man, with dark skin and braids in the ponytail that sat atop his head. His eyes were squinted and he had babyish cheeks. Johnny and him were laughing joyfully. It was a sweet picture, though I wondered who the man with Johnny was, for I had never seen him around.

I pushed the thoughts aside and opened the bag in which my uniform was in. I pulled out each individual piece and was a little shocked and a tad bit freaked out by the little amount of material. It made me wary as I started slipping the uniform on. When I was finished getting dressed and looked myself over, I sighed. "You have _got _to be kidding me..." I mumbled to myself.

I really did like my uniform, but _damn _the science department sure knew how to make things short! I wore a black sleeveless turtle neck that cut off just under my bust. It was very flattering, but I wasn't so sure I'd want to walk around like that all day and in public. And my shorts were short. Very, very short. Mostly white, with two black stripes on the sides. They were barely long enough to cover up my ass. But hey, whatever. I liked my butt. There was a white belt that sort of hung on my hips, and it had many buckles and black pouches to hold small items. My exorcist's jacket was black with a popped up collar like Ashley's, and a large silver zipper leading down to a white elastic belt that rested just below the hem of my shirt. It was laced with those white dash and line designs, the cross over my heart the same as Ashley's: more descriptive than that of the 1st uniform. The sleeves had zippers running vertically downwards until it reached my elbows, where the zipper made a sort of cuff. I buckled the belt but let the jacket itself stay unzipped, showing the shirt underneath. My black boots came up to my knees, one of the boots had a large zipper that spiraled down the boot to my ankle. I checked myself out in the mirror. The fabric was so soft and comfy, and really easy to move around in despite the shortness.

I drew the curtain back and crossed my arms over my exposed stomach, blushing. "Whoa!" Ashley said, shocked.

"Whoa?" I asked nervously, looking at my stomach. I was always a bit self conscious of myself..

"That is amazing." Raikou said.

"Really?" I asked hesitantly, pulling a stray strand of hair from out of my face and tucking it behind my ear.

"Yes! You look awesome, Dallas!" Ashley said, and I blushed at the compliment, straightening up.

"Thanks guys.." I said, smiling.

"No problem." Raikou said, smiling. At that precise moment my stomach let out a low, gurgling sound and my eyes grew wide, settling on my stomach.

"I need food. I haven't eaten like all day." I said, pouting. Raikou's expression turned to that of mock horror.

"Oh no! We should get you some food right away!" She exclaimed.

"To the cafeteria!" I said dramatically, running in the direction of the hallway with Ashley and Raikou at my sides. We ran through the hall, getting strange looks and chuckles as we passed, and when we made it to the cafeteria I paused in the archway, doubling over and resting my hands on my knees, breathing heavily.

"Phew!" I said, straightening up and wiping my brow as my stomach growled. "I am _starving_!" I said louder than I intended to, getting some stares in our direction. I brushed it off and adjusted my jacket, walking into the line for food. When it was my turn to order Jerry gave me one of those energetic smiles.

"Hey sugar! Oooh, look at you in that new uniform, gimme a spin!" He said, pointing his spatula at me. I twirled around shyly and Jerry smiled and laughed. "Oh baby, you looks so nice! Anyway you must be hungry, what can I do for you today?"

I thought for a moment, tapping my forefinger on my chin. "Hmm..How about some crawfish etoufee', with french bread and butter, some noodles just because I want some, and cranberry juice to wash it down. Odd food combo, I guess. But I'm hungry." I said, smiling sweetly.

"Ha ha, you won't be hearin' me complain, sweetie! I'd cook anything." Jerry said, and I couldn't help but laugh and smile at his jovial attitude. I waited a few moments for my food and when he handed me my tray I didn't go to the table immediately. I wanted to wait for Ashley and Raikou. I waited a few more minutes as Ashley and Jerry chatted, then a few more after she got her tray and Raikou ordered. When we had all received our trays we walked to the usual table, and I wasn't surprised to see everyone dressed in different uniforms.

All the uniforms were the same general modern style, with the large zippers and white dashes and such, but each n it's own way was different. Lavi wore tight white pants, the same style as my shorts, and an unzipped exorcist's jacket with elbow-length sleeves and a black shirt underneath, with an orange scarf wrapped around his neck. Kanda's uniform was much like Ashley's, what with the long sleeves. He had on a long jacket, almost floor length held up by the white and black belt, and he wore black pants underneath. Allen's uniform was very similar to Kanda's, except the jacket length was shorter; the hem line just above his knees. Miranda's uniform was much like a jumpsuit and it suited her and her innocence quite well, and Krory had a uniform practically the same to Allen's and Kanda's, but with a long black cape over it. I liked Lenalee's uniform, she had black shorts with a small half-skirt on the side and long, flowing sleeves.

I placed my tray down onto the table and as I sat down I heard Lavi whistle. I looked up at him and blushed as he checked me and Ashley out. "Those are some _nice _uniforms, ladies." He said, giving us a grin. I looked at Raikou who was scowling down at her plate. '_Uh-oh..._'I thought, concerned. '_She looks pissed.._'

"Stop it Lavi." Allen said, and my face was red as I looked up at him. We made eye contact for a brief second, and I could see a slight blush form on his cheeks. I looked away awkwardly, averting my gaze to Kanda, who was staring at Ashley. There was no sign of emotion on his pale face, but it seemed as though there was something different in his eyes...His head turned my way sharply as I realized I was staring, and I looked down at the table.

"So, we'll go shopping tomorrow?" Ashley asked Lenalee. She smiled.

"Yes!" She said, and we all chatted idly until we had finished eating. We had all gotten up when Komui came into the dining hall.

"Ashley, Dallas!" He called. I sighed. _What could he want now? _"I'm sorry, Reever just kept forgetting to tell you! Every exorcist is assigned a General who teaches them basically how to _be _and exorcist. All the generals are busy now and not at the Order at present, and although you two seem to be fine without the training, we have assigned generals for you. Dallas, you are assigned to General Tiedoll." He held up a picture of a man wizened with age, with a poofy gray head of hair and a a gray beard to match. He looked kind and gentle, and I smiled at Komui. But somewhere behind me I heard a disgruntled and highly exasperated sigh, I turned to see none other than Kanda with his arms crossed and a sour expression upon his face. "Oh that's right Dallas, you and Kanda share the same general." I smirked and glanced at Kanda again who gave me a death glare. I smiled sweetly at him and waved, and he scoffed, turning his head away. _Pfsh. Well this'll be fun. _

"Ashley, You'll be assigned to... General Cross." His eye twitched as he said this. I turned, shocked, to stare at Ashley who's cheeks had begun to grow pink.

"WHAT?" She exclaimed, fury clear on her face though she seemed like somewhere in there, she was pleased. Part of me was jealous while the other part of me felt sorry for her. Allen sighed heavily and put his face in his hand. "No way! I will not have that filthy man as my general!" Ashley argued.

Komui sighed and adjusted his glasses. "I know, I know. I'm sorry Ashley, I don't decide these things, the higher-ups do. Trust me if I could change the situation I would." Ashley scoffed and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "Well, you girls should get some rest mkay? I heard you'll be going dress shopping tomorrow~!" Komui said in a sing-song voice, breaking the serious tone and prancing out of the dining hall.

I moved toward Ashley, and I realized that the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was actually quite jealous of her. Wow, what was wrong with me? He used me! He used us! But then again..He was just so charming..._Wait, no! Damn it! He's just a smooth-talker. A player. I still can't believe that he got me drunk! Oh God, the things I said, the things I did-_

"He's right, we should probably get some rest. It'd be best to try to get an early start tomorrow." Lenalee said, abruptly stopping my train of thought. We all agreed before departing to our rooms. I told everyone goodnight and slipped through my door, closing it behind me and not bothering to switch on the light. I sighed and looked around my room. I really did love my room, just looking at it made me smile. I went over to the wardrobe and slipped off my uniform, changing into a plain white nightgown and hanging my uniform up. I chuckled at the small amount of space it took up before closing the wardrobe doors and walking over to my bed. I plopped down onto the soft mattress and buried my face in my pillow, sighing contentedly.

I let my thoughts wander, and they lingered on the ball for a moment. A masquerade ball sounded like so much fun! I had never really been to something so formal before, just thinking about it made my stomach jump with excitement. I would have to dance with Allen...My thoughts abruptly switched from the ball to Ashley and her innocence. It really actually bugged me how much her innocence had evolved in such a short time while mine stayed the same. What did I have to do? I wanted..no, I needed to get closer to my innocence. I needed to become stronger..But how was I supposed to do that? Maybe I could ask Hevlaska...I wasn't sure what she could do to help, but I knew that she was very close to innocence in general.

My thoughts swirled around endlessly, abruptly changing and changing as they always did, and as my eyes grew more heavy and my breaths became deeper, one thought stood out among the rest before I finally fell asleep. _That dream..I need to tell someone about that dream..._


	27. Chapter 27

Hey guys! Haven't had an Author's note in a while lol, I think I'll start doing these more often ^^ Since Winter Break has started, it'll be easier to write ^^ So I hope you guys look forward to more of our fic! And please, don't forget to review, it helps us keep writing and lets us know that you actually wanna keep reading this OTL. This one is by Ashley, as always~ ^^

* * *

Chapter 27

_~Ashley~_

_I was running through a field of tall grass dotted with wildflowers. The sky was painted red from the setting sun, and the only sounds were that of my ragged breaths and the rustling grass. I constantly looked over my shoulder, but each and every time I saw nothing. I found no comfort in this. I was still filled with a heavy sense of dread and fear that kept pressing me to run faster and faster. Although nothing visible was chasing me, I couldn't stop running and I couldn't run fast enough. I couldn't outrun that sickening feeling of dread and hopelessness, and it was slowly suffocating me. Yet I continued to run. I ran and ran for hours until the sky had become pitch black and the world had become filled with the sounds of night. Bugs chirped and called to one another, and the moon cast eerie shadows of twisted and gnarled figures across my path. Up ahead of me I saw a blinding white light. Curious, I ran towards it and when I finally reached it I abruptly halted. It was an eight foot tall cross burning in white flames. Horrified, I backed away only to bump into a tall black figure. I screamed but no sound came out. "You can't run forever, Ashley." the figure laughed. It released me and I frantically ran away into the night. As I ran I heard the figure calling my name over and over again. Each time my name became louder and louder. Ashley…Ashley… ASHLEY!_

_

* * *

_

I was being violently jerked awake, and in my bewilderment I instinctively grabbed my dagger and lashed out at whatever it was that had attacked me.

"Holy shit!" A startled voice that was awfully familiar shouted. As my senses came back to me, I opened my eyes and saw Dallas, Raikou, Miranda, and Lenalee all backed as far away from my bed as possible. All of them had horrified expressions glued to their faces. Raikou was on the ground, and it looked like she had fallen. _'Oh no,'_ I thought as I realized what I had done.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I said as I blushed from embarrassment. Lenalee, Miranda, and Raikou said nothing; they just gave me blank stares of disbelief. Dallas on the other hand said, "Ashley, what's gotten into you?"

"I don't know..." I replied, letting my head droop. As I said this, scenes from my nightmare flashed through my head. I then quickly pulled my head back up and said, "I was having a nightmare and you guys startled me."

A hushed silence fell over everyone. Concerned, Dallas asked, "What was your nightmare about?"

"It… I was running through a field. Just running. And I felt like I couldn't run fast enough. Even though nothing was chasing me, I still had this feeling like something that I couldn't escape was following me. I ran forever and ever until I reached this cross that was on fire. Then I bumped into this man. He grabbed me and I tried to scream but I couldn't. Then he said, "You can't run forever Ashley!" and released me. I then ran as fast as I could, but he caught up with me and then I woke up." I shivered as I recalled the terrifying dream.

"Oh wow, that's scary!" Raikou said, wide-eyed. "Who was the man?"

"I have no idea." I replied.

"A burning cross..." Dallas mumbled before shivering, "That's disturbing… Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it was just a dream." I said, even though I was actually really still completely freaked. She didn't look convinced.

"Well, I'm sorry you had a bad dream." said Lenalee.

"It's okay. Like I said, it was just a dream. Anyway, I guess I should get dressed so we can go dress shopping, right?" I said, smiling even though what I really wanted to do was go crawl in a corner and rock back and forth until I could shake off that lingering feeling of fear.

"Yeah, we've already eaten breakfast. When you didn't show up we decided to come and get you." said Lenalee.

"Okay, well, I'll meet you at the canals when I'm done getting dressed."

"Alright. Are you _sure_ you're okay?" Dallas asked as everyone walked out of my room.

"Yeah I'm fine." I said, smiling.

"Okay, if you're sure…I'll see you in a second then." She said before reluctantly leaving.

As soon as the door closed behind her I let out a heavy sigh. There was just something about that dream that really freaked me out. I think it was that feeling. That feeling of not being able to get away, to escape. It mortified me. I shivered again. "Ashley, pull yourself together, it was just a dream. Just a _dream_." I told myself as I let out another heavy sigh, before getting up and forcing myself to get dressed.

* * *

The damp, crowded, and noisy London streets filled me with nostalgia. It had been almost seven years since I'd last walked these streets and I didn't know how I felt about being back. The memories London held for me weren't exactly pleasant ones, and on top of my disturbing dream they filled me with even more anxiety than usual.

Sighing, I looked up at the sky. It was filled with swollen gray clouds that threatened to burst at any moment. The air was also crisp and chilly, and as we walked down one of London 's many streets I pulled my jacket tighter around me. _'I wonder if it's gonna snow.' _I thought.

"So, do we know where we're going to get our dresses?" I finally asked.

"There's this one store I've been to that has an amazing selection of dresses. We could go there." Lenalee proposed.

"Okay that sounds great. Where is it?"

"If I remember correctly, it's somewhere along this strip of buildings. We should be there soon."

"Okay, awesome. So are you guys excited about this ball?" I asked, hoping to get my mind off that dream and onto other things. It worked.

"Oh my God, yes!" Dallas exclaimed.

I laughed, "Me too! This will be so much fun! I love dances, and I love shopping for dresses too! Getting to try on all the pretty dresses makes me happy!" Everyone laughed.

"Oh look, there's the store!" Lenalee pointed to an elaborately decorated store that had two gorgeous gowns on display in the windows. There was a sign above the entrance that said "Mad Hatter Clothing" written in spirally letters. _'That's an interesting name for a store,' _I thought.

As we walked into the store, I was overwhelmed by the strong scent of perfume. Inside were racks upon racks of dresses.

"Hello, how can I help you girls today?" said a woman wearing a knee length black dress. She had black hair that was pulled up in a bun and black eyes. Pearls adorned her throat and ears.

"Hi, we're looking for some ball gowns." Lenalee replied.

"Well, we can most defiantly help you with that. The dressing rooms are over there," the woman pointed to some doors to the left that were surrounded by a couple mirrors and a couch, "and all the gowns that we have are on the racks, so take a look and let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

"Thank you," we all said as the woman walked away.

"Alright, well I guess we should start looking." I said as we all began to gravitate toward the gowns. "So what exactly are you looking for Dallas ?" I asked as Dallas, Raikou, and I began to shift through one of the many racks of dresses.

"Hmmm, I don't really know. I like all kinds of dresses, but I know I want something with a really low back." Raikou and I laughed.

"That would be really pretty and _sexy_." I said, "I'm sure Allen would love it."

"Yes he would!" Dallas said as we laughed.

"What about you Raikou?" I asked.

"Anything black." She replied.

"I knew you would say that." Dallas said.

"Oooh, look at this!" I said as I pulled out a light blue dress.

"Ooh that's pretty!" Dallas and Raikou said.

The anxiety of my dream and being in London slowly melted away as I was immersed in a world of bright fabric and sparkling diamonds, and as I continued to look through the racks I slowly began to drift farther and farther away from everyone. Occasionally we would meet up again to get each others opinions on a dress we'd discovered. It was when we were about an hour into shopping that I noticed something wasn't right with Dallas . She had stopped shifting through dresses and was looking blankly in front of her with a disturbed look on her face. "Oh my God." she gasped.

"What's wrong Dallas ?" I asked, grabbing everyone's attention and causing them all to walk over to Dallas and me.

"I just realized something…Lavi's seen my ass!"

"What?" we all exclaimed, shocked.

"On the train ride to Greece. Remember? We were sleeping on the train and I was sprawled out on the seat in a way that he was able to see up my skirt. And then when we were training that one day I'm sure he saw it then too! And who knows how many other times he's seen it, seeing as how the science department likes to make my uniforms so damn short!" Dallas looked horrified, and I couldn't help but laugh and pretty soon Raikou, Miranda, and Lenalee were all laughing as well.

"It's not funny!" she said, stomping her foot.

"It kind of is." I contradicted, "Especially after the whole prostitute thing!" Everyone laughed harder, Dallas even laughed but it quickly faded away as she said, "But I'm not a prostitute! Why is everyone trying to make me seem like I'm one! I mean, have you _seen_ my new uniform?"

"I'm sorry Dallas ," Lenalee said as she continued to laugh, "that's just how the science department is."

"Yeah, my uniform's not any better," I added.

"Pfsh, whatever." Dallas said as she started to look through the dresses again. Smiling, I playfully rolled my eyes before doing the same. After looking through about twenty more racks of dresses I had found three that I really liked and decided it was time to go try them on.

"Hey guys I'm gonna go try these on, okay?"

"Alright. I think I'm gonna try mine on too." said Dallas .

"Me too!" said Raikou.

"Miranda and I are still looking, but we'll watch and tell you what we think." replied Lenalee.

"Okay," we agreed. And with that, we walked over to the dressing rooms and began to try on our dresses.

As I undressed, I decided that I would try on the dark blue dress I had picked out first. Once I had slid the dress on over my head I turned around and looked into the mirror behind me. The dress had a tight corset-like bodice that was adorned with flowery patterns of sequins and diamonds. It was also strapless. The skirt to the dress consisted of a layer of a thin mesh and a layer of satiny dark blue material. It was also extremely poofy, which exaggerated my small waist. It extended about three feet out from me. Finally, the mesh part of the skirt was gathered together at my right hip with blue roses that were made out of the same mesh material as the skirt.

Once I felt like I had a good enough look at the dress, I opened the dressing room door and walked outside. Miranda and Lenalee were seated on the dressing room's couch.

"Oh wow!" said Lenalee.

"It's beautiful!" added Miranda.

"Thanks," I blushed. It was at that moment that Dallas came out of the dressing room. Raikou was still changing. Dallas was wearing a bright orange dress that had a tight satin bodice. At the top of the bodice was a strip of white lace. The bodice was also decorated with small, sparkly diamonds, and on her right hip were diamonds that were arranged in the shape of a diamond. The bottom to her dress was composed of layers of light orange mesh that hung loosely from her hips. It also had silky orange ribbon lining the bottom edge of the dress. The dress complemented Dallas 's dark hair and tan skin really well.

"Oh wow Dallas , you look amazing!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, you look very beautiful." added Miranda.

"You really do!" Lenalee agreed, smiling.

"You really think so?" she asked.

"Yes! The color really complements your hair and skin." I smiled.

"Awww thanks, you look awesome too." Dallas said with a smile.

"Thanks!" I replied as my smile widened.

"But I don't know. It just doesn't feel like it's the one." Dallas said uncertainly.

"Well then it's not. If it doesn't speak to your soul, then don't get it."

At this Dallas gave me a funny look. "Speak to my soul?"

"Yeah, that's what I said." I laughed, "Have you never heard anyone say that before?"

"No."

"Well now you have." It was then that Raikou came out of the dressing room.

She was wearing a black strapless dress that had a nice, tight bodice that really showed off her figure. From her hips, the dress hung in crinkled folds and cut off in the front a foot from the floor only to reveal the bottom layer of fabric. The bottom layer was made of black mesh that caused the dress to poof out slightly. In the back, the top layer rested on the floor in a small train of crinkled black fabric. At the top of the dress's bodice on the right side was a big, black flower that was made out of feathers. Her bright pink hair stood out quite nicely against the black dress, and the color of the dress made her pale skin look porcelain. She looked very beautiful.

"Oh wow Raikou! You look beautiful!" I said.

"Yeah, just wait until Lavi sees you in this!" Exclaimed Dallas, who was followed by Miranda and Lenalee's words of approval.

"Really?" Raikou asked, blushing.

"Yes!" we all exclaimed.

"Then I'm getting this one!" she declared with a smile.

I decided that it was time to try on my other dresses and walked into my dressing room, closed the door, slipped off the dark blue dress, and put on the strapless light blue dress I had grabbed.

It had a heart-shaped bodice that was embellished with white beaded flowers. Blue mesh had been wrapped around the waist of the dress and on the sides of the waist were more beaded flowers. From the waist, the blue mesh fabric hung over a layer of light blue satin, and from the left hip of the dress a layer of blue mesh cut down at a diagonal. On the edges of the diagonally cut fabric were more beaded flowers. The skirt of the dress wasn't as poofy as the first one I tried on, but it was still really poofy. There was maybe a foot's difference in the poofyness.

When I walked out of the dressing room, I first noticed that Dallas had changed dresses. She was now wearing a short, knee length, strapless dress. The bust was black, but the rest of the dress was white with black floral designs. On the left side of her waist was a red bow, and in the center of the bow was a star-shaped diamond. She looked very cute in it. The second thing that I noticed was that Miranda and Lenalee were gone. Raikou was the only one sitting on the dressing room's couch. I figured that they were changing.

"Oh, you look awesome!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks, so do you! But I think I like that dress you tried on earlier better." she replied.

"I agree," said Raikou.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. This dress doesn't really go with my skin color. So is this the one Dallas ?" I asked.

"I don't know. I like it, but it doesn't speak to me."

"Hmm...Well try on your other dress and we'll see." I suggested.

"Okay." Dallas said, as she walked back into her dressing room to change.

As soon as Dallas closed the door behind her, Miranda and Lenalee came out of their dressing rooms. I gasped. Miranda looked amazing! She was wearing a black satin dress that had a heart-shaped bodice, and black straps that hung loosely on her shoulders. It had a tight fitting bodice and from the bodice flared out a sea of black. Her dress puffed out slightly, and when she moved the black fabric swished elegantly around her. She also was wearing long black gloves.

"Oh my goodness! Miranda you look amazing!" I commented.

"Do you really think so?" she asked modestly as she looked down at the floor.

"Yes! I mean, don't you think she looks beautiful Raikou?"

"Yeah, she does." Raikou nodded her head.

"Why thank you." Miranda said with a shy smile.

"Lenalee, you look amazing too!" I added.

Lenalee was wearing a pretty burgundy colored dress. It was strapless and the bodice fit snugly on her waist. Adorning the bodice were tiny diamonds, and from the bodice spilled out a slightly poofy skirt. It was simple, but pretty.

"Thanks," Lenalee smiled, "but I don't think I like it as much as I thought I would. I'm gonna go try on the other one."

"Okay. I think I'm gonna do the same." I added as I walked into my dressing room to try on my final dress.

The last dress I had picked out wasn't as poofy as the others, and at first glance it might appear dull, but it was actually far from it. It was light blue and had straps that hung loosely on the sides of my arms, just below my shoulders. The straps were made of an arrangement of light blue hibiscus flowers. The bodice was heart-shaped, and the top part of it was lined with white, flowery lace. Below the strip of lace, the bust of the dress was embellished with both small sparkly diamonds and white beads. From the bodice the dress hung nicely off my hips and poofed out slightly, but not nearly as much as the other two I had tried on. The dress consisted of two layers. The top layer was made out of thin, white, see-through material that at the bottom was lined with a design of white lacey flowers. The bottom layer was made out of silky, solid, light blue fabric. The dress trailed on the floor, and because of this and the looseness of the dress whenever I walked it would swish gracefully around me. Everything about the dress was loose and free. It was very elegant and graceful and it made my blue eyes really stand out. It also really complimented my skin and hair color well. The other thing I really liked about it was that in the back it laced up like a corset, something that I've always loved. The dress was also fairly low cut in the back. It revealed about maybe five and a half inches of my back. It also came with a shawl that was made out of the same material as the first layer of the dress and at the ends of the shawl were more lace flowers.

It was very beautiful, and in a way it seemed to complete me. When I walked out of the dressing room I was greeted with gasps and words of awe.

"Oh wow, Ashley!" Dallas exclaimed, "You should get that one!"

"Yeah, it's really pretty!" added Raikou as everyone else mumbled words of agreement.

"Really? Why do you say that?" I asked, blushing slightly. It wasn't that I didn't like the dress, it just wasn't as grand as the other two.

"Yes! It's just more graceful, and it really really suits you! It's just. . ._you_!" Dallas replied.

"But it's not poofy like the others."

"It doesn't have to be poofy. I mean, just look at that dress." I turned around and looked in the mirror. "Don't you agree that it's more _you_ than the other two dresses?"

I stared at my reflection, trying to take in the whole picture. Dallas was right. There was just something about the way the dress flowed and hung, something about the color and fabric. It really did suit me. I smiled. "You're right! I see what you mean now! I'm gonna get this one!"

"Awesome! Now I just have to find my dress." Dallas said. It was then that I noticed that both she and Lenalee had changed dresses.

Dallas was wearing a strapless aqua blue dress that had peacock feathers adorning the bodice. A few feathers dotted the bottom of the dress which puffed out slightly from her hips. It was a beautiful dress, but I could tell from Dallas 's face that she didn't like it.

Lenalee's dress reminded me of something a princess would wear. It was strapless and had a white corset-like bodice that was embellished with an assortment of diamonds, causing it to sparkle every time she moved. From the white bodice puffed out a light, spring green skirt that consisted of multiple layers of thin mesh that was gathered at her right hip by green roses that were made out of the same material. The skirt was also embellished with diamonds and white beads. She was also wearing long white gloves that came up to her elbows and accented the dress extremely well. It was a beautiful gown and she looked very pretty in it.

"Oooh Lenalee! Is that the dress you're getting? It looks really pretty!" I said.

Lenalee smiled, "Yep it is!" she spun around and the dress swirled around her.

"It so pretty! I like it!"

"So do I! And thanks!"

"And Dallas , don't worry, we'll find you a dress." I said determinedly.

"Thanks" she smiled.

We all then began to help Dallas search for her dress. I was searching through what was probably my hundredth rack when I found the perfect dress for her. It was a light purple, almost lilac color. It had three strips of ribbon that encircled the corset-like bodice, and on the right hip of the dress was a purple bow. The dress consisted of two layers. The top layer cut diagonally across the first and was all ruffled and crinkled so that it didn't lie flat. The bottom layer was the longest and wasn't crinkled like the first. It also caused the dress to puff out a bit. The dress was strapless and at the top of the bodice was a single layer of ruffles. Sprinkled over the dress was tons of glitter and diamonds, which caused it to sparkle in the faintest of light. The dress also had one of the lowest backs I had ever seen.

" Dallas !" I called as I took the dress off of the hanger and walked over to the dressing rooms where she was trying on another dress. Raikou, Lenalee, and Miranda were sitting squished together on the couch.

"What?" she asked as I walked toward her.

"I found the perfect dress for you!" I said as I held up my treasure for her to see. Everyone gasped.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed with wide eyes, "That's perfect!" I turned the dress around to show her the back. "No way! It even has a low back!"

I nodded my head. "Now go try it on." Dallas quickly walked into the dressing room.

"Oh my gosh, that dress is so perfect for her. Where'd you find it?" asked Raikou.

I pointed in the direction of the rack I found it on, "Over there."

Dallas then came out of the dressing room. "Oh wow," we all gasped. The dress fit her perfectly. It was tight around the waist which showed off her figure, and the color really suited her, especially with her dark hair. Also, the crinkliness of the top layer and the bow really fit her personality. It was like the dress was a reflection of herself. But the most startling thing about the dress was the back. It just barely cut off above her butt. Dallas looked euphoric.

Dallas enthusiastically spun around, causing the dress to flare out around her. "This is perfect! I love it!" she said, smiling joyfully.

"It's beautiful!" agreed Lenalee.

"You look amazing!" said Miranda.

"It really fits your personality!" I added.

"Just look at that back!" Raikou said.

"Thanks! And I know right! Just wait until everyone sees this!" Dallas replied, smiling, causing everyone to laugh.

"Well, we've finally found our dresses." Lenalee said, clearly relieved.

"Yeah, and it only took like what, three hours!" I added, and we laughed.

"I know! I'm so tired!" groaned Raikou, "Who knew looking for dresses took this much energy?"

"I know, I'm tired too, and hungry." added Dallas.

"Well, how about we change out of these dresses and go get something to eat. Then we can go look for some masks." Suggested Lenalee.

"Sure." everyone agreed and with that we changed, paid for our gowns, and then went in search of a good place to eat.

* * *

We had decided to eat at a small bistro that was next door to the dress shop. I was starving, especially since I had overslept and missed breakfast. I ordered just about as much food as Dallas , which was saying a lot since she had such a big appettite.

"So where are we going to go to find our masks?" asked Dallas as she took a bite out of her spaghetti.

"I have no idea," replied Lenalee, "I've never needed to buy a mask before. Do you guys have any ideas?"

"I think I know where we can go." began Raikou, "There's this one shop that's just down the street. It has like a whole bunch of random stuff and I remember seeing some masks there."

"Oh, that sounds like a great place to try. What's it called?" asked Lenalee.

"Serendipity." replied Raikou.

"That is the coolest name for a store ever!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah it is," agreed Dallas, "so is that where we're going?"

"I don't have any problem with it." replied Lenalee, "What about you guys?"

"Sure, we can go there." We all replied.

"Alright, then it's decided." Lenalee smiled.

Once we had finished lunch, we went directly to Serendipity. Raikou was right it did have a lot of random stuff. Inside it was dimly lit. Japanese paper lanterns and wind chimes hung from the ceiling, and brightly colored cloths were threaded through the rafters to create a sky of hot pink, lime green, dark purple, bright orange, and light blue. The store smelled strongly of incense and foreign spices, smells that reminded me of India.

"It smells like India in here." I said.

"Really?" Dallas asked.

"Yep." I replied as I glanced over the store's merchandise. Serendipity sold everything from spices and incense to porcelain dolls and candy. _'I see why it's called serendipity now,'_ I thought. As we walked further into the store, we finally came upon the owner. He was a short man, who had grey, thinning hair, and a gray mustache. He was restocking his supply of incense when we found him.

"Excuse me sir," said Lenalee. Startled, the man jumped and quickly turned around, "oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, it's quite alright. What can I help you young ladies find today?" The man smiled. He had a gentle, jolly voice, and I immediately liked him.

"Well, we were wondering if you had any masks, for like a masquerade ball."

The man's smile widened, "Why yes! We do indeed have masks! They're in the back. Follow me." We all followed him as he led us through a maze of unorganized shelves to the back where tons of masks resided. There were masks hanging up on the wall, and masks on shelves. I had never seen so many masks in my life.

"That's a lot of masks!" I exclaimed.

"Why yes it is." replied the owner in tone that indicated he was quite proud of his masks. "Well, let me know if I can help you with anything else." The owner said before he walked off.

"This is going to take forever to look through!" Raikou groaned, causing us all to laugh.

"Well then we'd better start looking now." said Miranda. And with that, we all began to look through Serendipity's masks. There were all different kinds of masks. There were some that had feathers on them, some that had beads, and some that had decorations on them that were so outrageously big that it seemed like it'd be impossible to fit through the door. I had no idea what type of mask to get. My dress had so much detail to it that the mask would have to be simple. I was thinking about getting something silver or white.

"Have you found anything yet Raikou?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna do this." Raikou held up a small, black mask. The mask was embellished with black glitter that was arranged in random swirly patterns. Coming off the left side of the mask was a black spirally ornament. It was very pretty and would complement her dress extremely well.

"That's going to look awesome with your dress!" I exclaimed. Raikou smiled in response. It was then that something caught my eye. It was a mask made out of silver. It wasn't like other masks in the way that it wasn't solid. It had openings all throughout it. It was basically an outline of a mask, with silver wire outlining the bridge of the nose and the eyes. Decorating the mask were shining moonstones, diamond flowers, and tiny silver leaves and swirls. The parts where the decorations and wire didn't touch were what left the gaps in it. They weren't huge gaps, but they were so frequent that you would obviously be able to tell who it was behind the mask. What I liked about it was that it was both simple and elegant just like my dress. I immediately knew that this was the mask I was going to get.

"Raikou, look at this mask." I said as I held it up.

"Oooh, that's really pretty! Is that the one you're going to get?" she asked.

"I think so." I replied as I looked at the mask again. I then glanced over at Dallas who was a few feet away from Raikou and I. It looked like she was debating between two masks. In one hand she held a light purple and white mask that had leaf like cutouts sticking out of the top right side. In her other hand was a silver and lilac mask that had half a butterfly wing on the left half. The butterfly wing was made out of silver and was extremely detailed. It was very beautiful.

" Dallas , you should get the butterfly one." I said.

"I agree with Ashley." added Raikou.

Dallas smiled, "That actually was the one I was leaning toward."

"Good, cause I love the whole butterfly thing."

"I do too! So, which mask are you getting?" I held up my mask. "Oooh, that's pretty. I like it. What about you Raikou?" Raikou held up her black mask. "Oh wow! I really like those swirly things on the side."

"I know right?" said Raikou.

"Hey, I think we should go check on Miranda and Lenalee and see how they're doing," I suggested.

"Okay." Dallas and Raikou agreed.

But before we could go look for them, they had already come back from where they were looking.

"Hey guys, we've found our masks." Lenalee said as she held up a small white mask that was adorned with pearls and lace. Miranda was holding a black velvet mask that had a floral pattern stitched into it with white thread.

"Ooh, those are really pretty!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, they're going to look awesome with ya'lls dresses!" agreed Dallas . Raikou nodded her head in agreement.

Lenalee and Miranda smiled. "I know right! I am so excited for this party. I just hope Komui doesn't do anything too extreme." Lenalee said excitedly.

"Well he _is_ throwing a ball for you. That's pretty much as extreme as it gets." Dallas said, causing us all to laugh.

"You're right. I don't know what I'm going to do with him." Lenalee sighed.

We walked toward the register, paid, and then, gowns and masks in hand, left Serendipity. As we stepped outside the store we were greeted by a blast of cold air.

"Is it just me, or has it gotten colder in the past hour and a half?" Dallas asked she pulled her jacket closer around her.

"Well, it _is_ January." Lenalee shrugged as we began to walk toward the canals.

"Oh my God, maybe it will snow!" Dallas exclaimed excitedly.

"That would be awesome! Especially if it was snowing lightly for the ball! Wouldn't that just be amazing?" I laughed.

"That would be so cool!" smiled Raikou.

"You know, I think we actually are supposed to get snow sometime this week." stated Miranda.

"Really! I really hope it snows!" Dallas said hopefully.

"Yeah, that would be really cool if it did!" agreed Lenalee.

When we finally got back to the order we were all exhausted, so exhausted that we all went straight to our rooms to take naps and relax. As I walked into my room I sighed heavily. I was so tired, but also really excited. I couldn't wait for the ball. Thoughts and expectations began to form in my mind of what that night would be like. I smiled. Yes, it was going to be a night to remember.

After I put my dress in my bureau I lied down on my bed and closed my eyes. It wasn't too long until I was asleep. I was dreaming of dresses, tons and tons of dresses that just flashed through my mind in a blur of color.

I was startled awake by the sound of footsteps and voices outside my door.

"Hey, do you know if the girls are back yet?" I heard what I thought was Lavi.

"Yeah, I think they came back a couple hours ago. I saw Lenalee and Miranda in the halls as I was coming back from the library." Allen's voice began to get farther and father away until it was no longer audible.

I rubbed my eyes and stretched before getting out of bed. _'Wow, I was asleep for a while.' _I thought as I looked out my now pitch black window. I then moved my gaze to the painting that I had started what felt like ages ago. It was a painting of one of the bazaars in India. I smiled. Shops lined the street and young children played as people haggled and bartered with shop owners for treasures. It was all so familiar and comforting, but I felt a pang of loss as the reality that I may never get to go back hit. I sighed.

Hoping to get my mind off India, I decided to go see what Dallas was up to. As I walked through the hall to Dallas's room, I began to hear a sweet, heart wrenching melody. As I moved closer to the sound, the melody became words and I realized that someone was singing. Whoever it was had a beautiful voice. Tears began to flood my eyes and I felt my heart swell with joy. The voice was simply mesmerizing, and I wanted to know who it belonged to. As I followed the sound I realized that it was coming from the direction of Dallas room. _'No way!' _I thought, _'Is that Dallas ?' _And as Dallas's door finally came into my view, I found that it was Dallas who was singing. I also found, to my surprise, Allen standing in front of her door with his ear pressed against it.

"Allen?" I asked, causing him to jump away from the door. "What were you doing?" I couldn't help but smile. The whole situation was just too amusing.

Blushing, Allen scratched the back of his head. "What? I was umm…doing….nothing!" he laughed nervously before quickly walking away.

As soon as he was gone I burst out laughing. I guess I was laughing so loud that Dallas heard me, because the singing soon stopped, which was then followed by Dallas poking her head out the door.

"Ashley? What's so funny?" she asked, her face red from embarrassment.

"Oh, no, I wasn't laughing at you!" I quickly said, "It was just that I saw Allen, and he was standing outside your door listening to you sing, by the way you have an amazing voice, and so I was like Allen what are you doing and his reaction was just so adorable!" I started laughing again.

Dallas blushed and her eyes grew wide, there was a long moment of silence before she said, "He heard me singing?"

"Yes! From what I could see it looked like he liked it! I mean, he had his ear pressed against your door!" I said excitedly, as a smile began to form on her lips.

Dallas took my hands in hers and we began jumping up and down excitedly as she said, "Oh my God! I can't believe it! Oh my God! Oh my God! That makes me so incredible happy!"

I giggled, "I know! This is so awesome!" We were still jumping up and down like crazy people, but Dallas then abruptly stopped and hesitantly looked around to make sure no one had overheard. Once she made sure the coast was clear she looked back at me and said, "This is so amazing!"

"I know! And right before the ball, too! We have to tell Raikou!" I said.

"Oh my God, yes!" and hand-in-hand, Dallas and I skipped joyfully towards Raikou's room in a fit of giggles and excitement.


	28. Chapter 28

Sorry it's taken so long for this short chapter u.u haha anyways, hope ya enjoy! This one's by Lisa.

* * *

**Chapter 28**

_~Raikou~_

I was in my room, about to fall asleep, when I heard frantic knocking at my door.

"Raikou! Open your door!" I heard a familiar voice say. I picked myself up to see what the commotion was about. It was Dallas and Ashley. They looked excited.

"What happened?" I asked.

"It's Allen! He liked my singing!" Dallas exclaimed happily.

"He was listening so intently that he didn't even notice me." Ashley laughed.

"That's amazing!" I said.

"I know!" They both said in unison. We all burst out laughing.

It was silent now.

"...There's also something else I need to say.." Dallas began. She told us about a reoccurring dream she was having about Allen leaving the order.

"Its just a dream, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." I laughed. Dallas's look of concern was masked with a look I couldn't read.

"...I guess." she said.

"That's really odd..I wonder what it could mean." Ashley said.

"..I don't know, but I'm worried.."

"Well..We should go to bed now. We have to go shopping for Lenalee's presents in the morning... Sweet dreams." Ashley said.

"Goodnight," I replied. The two of them disappeared down the hall. I closed the door and got back into my bed.

* * *

The next day we had our breakfast and then went out. It was time to shop for Lenalee's presents. Ashley bought a jewel encrusted brush, I got an elaborate feather pen, and Dallas bought Lenalee a pair of jewel encrusted chopsticks. After we had bought everything we returned to the Order.


	29. Chapter 29

Lol FINNNAAALLLYYYY a new chapter! We really hope you like this one! It's taken forever but finally, here it is! We really hope you guys enjoy. And keep the reviews coming! It encourages us to keep this story going! Review if you like it, and if you want more! (:

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Chapter 29

**_~Dallas~_**

For the first time in a while, I woke up wide awake, and with a faint smile upon my face. I sighed in contentment as I looked around my dimly lit room, the rainbow stained glass window sending reflections of bright, yellowish colors throughout my room. I didn't remember what I had dreamed about, but it must have been good considering how happy I awoke this morning. I brushed the covers aside and stepped on the blue rug gingerly, feeling like a princess, as if a little bluebird would fly in from my window and land on my outstretched hand. I was feeling graceful as I twirled toward my dresser and sifted through my clothes. _Pfsh, I can do this shit! I can be a ballerina! _

These words were thought too soon. I stepped to twirl again when my foot snagged the carpet, causing my body to fall limp from surprise as I hit the ground with an obscenely loud _thud_. I laughed at myself from the irony. "But of course..." I mumbled as I staggered to my feet, picking up my clothes for today. I slipped off my nightgown and placed it on my bed before slipping on the casual outfit I had chosen: A white camisole and green sweatpants, complimented with a green half jacket. I pulled my dark hair up in a loose bun and skipped out the door with socked feet, sliding down the hall as cool as I could so I could knock on Ashley's door before letting myself in with another twirl. I was in an impeccably good mood today. After all, it _was _the day of the ball.

"Knock-knock! Good morning sunshine!" I said in a sing-song voice, giving Ashley a brilliant smile. She looked at me groggily as she slipped on her pink tee shirt. "Whoopsy daisy!" I said as I closed the door behind me, chuckling softly. "Sorry." She smiled and wiped the sleep from her eyes before grabbing her hairbrush and running it through her long blond locks.

"No it's fine." She giggled lightly before adding, "You look very...comfortable today." I smiled sheepishly and threaded my fingers together behind my back.

"Er...Thanks?"

"Oh I meant it as a compliment! You look adorable. And happy today, I might add." I smiled wider as a blush warmed my cheeks.

"Aww, thanks! And I am! Getting ready for big events such as this is always fun, right? And I just woke up extremely happy this morning." I said as I bounded over to her bed, jumped on top of it, and sat Indian style, folding my hands in my lap. I watched Ashley patiently as she walked around her room primping herself. She then sighed and turned to me. I grabbed her hands.

"You're hungry?" She asked, though it sounded more like a statement to me.

"Ravenous." I said with a grin. She chuckled as I pulled her out the door, twirling around and sliding on the cold stone with my socked feet. I slid directly in front of Raikou's door with Ashley following, stood up straight and promptly knocked on the door three times. After a few minutes of me tapping my foot, Raikou emerged from her darkened room with a panda plushie cradled in her arms. "Goooood morning!" I said happily.

She gave me and Ashley a dazzling smile and returned the greeting before we were off to the cafeteria. When we walked through the large archway, somehow, I had lost my appetite. The line was so ridiculously long that it probably would have taken an hour just to get to the middle of the line. The halls and cafeteria were buzzing with chatter and excitement. It was Lenalee's birthday, after all, and virtually everyone was pumped for the ball tonight.

"Yeah. . .Guys, let's just go sit." I said, my eye twitching at the thought of getting in that line.

"You read my mind." Raikou replied. We strolled over to our regular table where Allen was scarfing down his mountain of food as usual. I sighed and sat beside him.

"Are you not hungry today, Dallas?" Lenalee asked from across the table.

"Are you kidding? I am _not _going into that line. I can wait to eat." I said with a chuckle, but I really could use a little something to eat. I hugged my stomach and leaned into the table a little, staring at the dark wood. Then there was a soft tap on my shoulder. I looked over at a blushing Allen, who was holding a plate of food outstretched towards me. I smiled at him gratefully.

"Thanks, Allen!" I said joyously and took the plate from his pale hands. He gave me an innocent smile in reply, before I set down the plate and began to eat. But the thing was, I really wasn't very hungry. All I did was pick at my food and push it around. Lately I just haven't been very hungry, and I don't know why. But that was of little importance now.

"So ladies." Lavi started, and I rolled my eyes. "Are you ready for the night of your lives?" He said with a grin. I scoffed.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" I said nonchalantly, but my facade was cracked with a blooming smile.

"I'm so excited!" Ashley said, "I can't wait to dance and wear my dress and...and...this will be just so amazing!" I laughed at Ashley's happy babble and crossed my arms over my chest, pushing the plate away.

"No." Raikou mumbled in response to Lavi's question. I put my arms around her and gave her a small, affectionate shove.

"Oh come on, Raikou! It'll be fun. Refreshing. Something new for all of us. Or, most of us at least." I said quietly to her.

"I'm not so sure..."

"Just think of when Lavi sees you in that dress. He'll freak out! You're gorgeous, Raikou, and this is something that we'll remember forever, ya know? I guess balls can be pretty boring if you have no one to dance with, but you know if all else fails I'd gladly take your hand." I whispered with a grin before we burst out laughing. Everyone at the table glanced at us and we ignored them. This moment was sort of perfect. Everything seemed balanced. I was talking and laughing with people I loved, sitting next to the boy I liked, and not even worrying about akuma or any flaw in the world. Everything was simple.

Komui's booming voice coming from the intercom crashed through my thoughts violently.

"Everyone, please listen! I'll need all of your help to set up the ballroom on the fifth floor! Oh! And _don't _allow Lenalee in at _all_ until the time of the ball! Tootles now~! AND GET TO WORK." He said, and I chuckled as Lenalee face-palmed.

"Oh, brother, whatever shall I do with you.." She said, and Ashley patted her back with mock-sympathy. We chuckled.

"Well, I guess that's our cue to leave. Catch you later." Lavi said with a playful wink, patting a grumpy Kanda on the back and nodding at Krory and Allen before they were off.

"Um, girls?" Miranda asked as we started getting up.

"Yes?" Ashley asked politely.

"Have you wrapped Lenalee's gifts yet? If not, could I maybe join you?" She asked, twiddling her thumbs nervously and holding her breath as she waited for an answer.

"Oh, um, yes! Yes of course! We were just about to do that now. Right guys?" I said, smiling at Miranda kindly as she sighed in relief, pulling loose curls back from her face.

"Yeah, all the stuff's in my room. Let's go." Raikou said. Conveniently, Raikou had some shiny silver wrapping paper for us to use, probably one of the few things she owned that wasn't adorned with pandas. Miranda had bought Lenalee a cute, short, pink and green kimono with a matching sparkly bow. We all wrapped our presents and prattled on about how exciting the ball would be, where we had gotten our gifts and for how much, how we wished it would snow tonight and how that would make this evening that much more perfect...When we were done we walked together with our wrapped presents down to the fifth floor. My jaw dropped. The hall was so busy that I thought I would become claustrophobic as we inched our way towards the ballroom. When we finally emerged we stepped in and it wasn't decorated much. Finders were painting a stage, setting up a giant disco ball to hang from the ceiling, setting up lights and instruments and such. There was a huge table already piled with presents, so we decided to just add ours to the colorful and shiny pile.

"I think we should start getting ready." Ashley proposed as we started moseying our way out of the hoi polloi of the ballroom.

"You're right Ashley. We should find Lenalee first though." Miranda said. Raikou and I just smiled and nodded. They went along faster than I, for I had spotted Allen and sort of got lost in stupid, silly thoughts...When I realized that the girls were leaving the ballroom ahead of me, heading in his direction. _'whoops.' _I thought to myself, before jogging to catch up.

It all kind of happened in a blur. I was jogging to catch up to Ashley and them, when I accidentally bumped into Kanda, having slid on my socks. "Whoops! Sorry!" I said sheepishly, scratching my head.

"Watch where you're going!" He growled, pushing me back and before I knew it I was on top of Allen. And our lips were pressed together firmly. And I had no idea what the hell had just happened.

_**~Ashley~**_

As we were walking out of the ballroom to look for Lenalee I noticed that Dallas wasn't with us. Concerned, I turned around only to see Dallas being shoved out of the way by Kanda and falling onto Allen, their lips meeting in an accidental kiss in the process.

"Oh my God," I gasped, drawing Miranda and Raikou's attention to the scene. We all hurried to Dallas's side as she quickly got off of Allen, her cheeks bright red from embarrassment.

"Allen…I-I'm so sorry!" she stammered, eyes wide with shock. "I didn't mean…for that to umm...happen."

"It's fine," He replied, his face as red as hers as he smiled sheepishly.

"No...it's not…I'm so sorry! If KANDA hadn't pushed me, none of this would have happened!" She said, causing Allen to look a bit taken aback. When Dallas saw Allen's expression she immediately began to take it back, "um…wait, no, I meant that, uh…"

"Well you should watch where you're fucking going!" Kanda interrupted.

"Oh, wow, _really _Kanda? So _that's _an excuse to push a girl?" Dallas lashed back.

"Hey!" I shouted, causing Dallas and Kanda to look at me. I was tired of listening to their petty bickering, "This is no time for fighting! It's Lenalee's birthday and there's a super awesome ball tonight and we are all going to have a super awesome time! So let's forget about this and start getting ready for the ball 'cause we're going to start running out of time." Dallas and Kanda glared at each other in utter silence.

After a few minutes Dallas glanced at me and then Allen before mumbling, "Fine, you're right. Bye Allen."

"Oh my God! I can't believe that just happened!" I exclaimed once we left the ballroom.

"Believe me, neither can I." Dallas blushed as she recalled the event, "I'm sooo embarrassed! How am I going to be able to face him tonight? Oh my gosh! What if he thinks I didn't like it!" She exclaimed, horrified.

I abruptly stopped walking and grabbed her shoulders, "I'll tell you how you're going to face him. You're going to face him by putting this all behind you and acting like it didn't happen. And don't worry about whether or not he thinks you liked it. It was an awkward situation and he's probably thinking the same things you are. So, I mean, the best thing you can do is, like I said, put it all behind you and just focus on the ball!" I smiled.

"But when I blamed Kanda for what happened Allen looked just so… well you know…disappointed." Dallas said as we resumed walking.

"Oh no Dallas, I'm sure it's fine…" Miranda hesitantly said with a shaky smile.

"Yeah .And besides, I think you may be over-analyzing this a bit." Raikou added.

"I agree with Raikou. I mean it _is _Allen we're talking about here." I shrugged.

"You're right," Dallas said, "I do tend to do that. Thanks guys."

"No problem." We all replied.

"So where's Lenalee?" I asked.

"I don't know. She's probably in her room." Suggested Dallas.

"Oh right, that's probably a good place to start." I said.

We eventually found Lenalee in the library hiding from her brother. Apparently Komui was constantly bothering her with stupid party things, like being fitted for her crown and whatnot. She suggested that we all get ready in the bathroom because it had a nice dressing room with lots of mirrors and a nice sitting area. So we all went back to our rooms to grab our dresses, accessories, and make up before heading to the bathroom, where the first thing we did was shower.

The water was warm and relaxing and helped calm my nerves. I was so excited! I couldn't believe that it was actually the day of the ball. And I couldn't help but think about all the things that could happen.

When I finished washing my hair I turned off the water, dried off, put on my robe, and stepped out of the shower. It looked like everyone else had finished showering too and were busy blow drying their hair in front of the mirrors. I decided to join them.

I was about halfway through drying my hair when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a shadow in front of the bathroom entrance. I quickly turned off the blow dryer.

"Hey guys!" I yelled over the blow dryers, trying to get everyone's attention.

"What's wrong Ashley?" asked Lenalee.

"I think somebody's here." I said, pointing to the shadow.

Everyone turned to look as Lavi jumped out of his "hiding" place. "Hey girls!" He exclaimed, smiling innocently.

"Lavi! Get out!" we all yelled as we pulled our robes and towels tighter around ourselves.

"Awww, can't I just stay and watch?" he asked hopefully.

"Nooo!" we yelled, causing Lavi's smile to fade.

"Lavi, this is the _girl's_ bathroom! GET OUT!" Raikou yelled furiously.

"Awww, you're no fun Raikou." Lavi whined. He made no attempt to leave, so, ignoring Lavi's protests, we all ended up having to push him out of the bathroom.

"Oh my God! He is such a prick!" Raikou fumed.

"I KNOW!" Dallas agreed, "What a pervert! I mean who knows how long he's been standing there!" We all groaned at the thought.

"I can't believe he had the nerve to do that! I mean what kind of guy sneaks into the girl's bathroom?" I said, clearly disgusted.

"Apparently the type like him," Lenalee answered.

"Yeah," we all scoffed, before we resumed blow drying our hair.

Once the tedious task of drying our hair was complete we could finally start doing the fun stuff. The bathroom was filled with giggling and chatter of the ball as we excitedly began applying make-up and doing whatever possible to make ourselves look beautiful for the night.

It was when I had begun putting on some dark blue eye-shadow over the silver eye-shadow I had used as a base that Raikou asked me if I'd help her with her make-up.

"I'd love to!" I told her, smiling. " Dallas would you like to help me?"

"Sure!" she answered, equally excited. And together we fawned over which colors of eye-shadow, blush, and lip stick to use on Raikou. We eventually decided on using light silver as a base and a smoky black to define her eyes. For lipstick we chose a dark burgundy red.

When we finished Raikou looked amazing! And when she saw her reflection in the mirror, a wide grin spread across her face.

"Oh my gosh, you look beautiful Raikou!" We all exclaimed.

"Thank you," she replied, still smiling. It made me so happy to see Raikou so thrilled about her appearance.

Now that we had finished helping Raikou, Dallas and I went back to our makeup. Dallas was using dark purple eyeshadow that matched her gown. Lenalee and Miranda had already finished with their makeup and were busy pulling their hair up into elaborate buns. It was then that I realized I had no idea what I was going to do with my hair.

"How are you guys fixing your hair?" I asked Dallas and Raikou.

"I was thinking about curling my pigtails." Raikou answered.

"And I'm going to put my hair half up-half down and curl it." said Dallas.

"Oh, those will both look amazing!" I smiled.

"Thanks." they replied, returning the smile.

"I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with my hair. Do you guys have any ideas?" I asked hopefully.

"You could put it in a bun!" suggested Raikou.

"Nah, my hair's always in a bun."

"Hmm, well you could pull half of it back and curl it." Dallas suggested.

"Oooh, I like that idea! Thanks Dallas !"

After I finished curling my hair, I took out the white lilies and blue flowers I had bought and began distributing them throughout my hair. I was just about to put the last one in when Komui burst into the dressing room.

"Oh my God! Komui!" Dallas exclaimed as we all blushed.

"Lenalee! There you are! I've been looking for you _all_ day! You have to be fitted for your crown!" He exclaimed dramatically.

Lenalee had just finished changing into her gorgeous spring green and white gown and she looked quite beautiful when her brother had burst into the girl's dressing room.

"Brother!" she exclaimed, getting angrier by the second. "This is the _girl's_ dressing room! You shouldn't be in here!"

"Oh, never mind that! We must go!" Komui said before grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the bathroom.

"Have fun Lenalee!" Dallas said as we all said goodbye to Lenalee.

"Goodness! How many times are guys going to burst into the _girl's _dressing room? I mean really, does no one believe in privacy anymore?" I sighed exasperatedly.

"I know! This is crazy!" Raikou exclaimed.

"Hey, I'm going to go change. I'll be right back." Dallas said before walking off.

"Okay have fun!" I yelled after her.

"Oh I will!" she winked causing us to both laugh.

"I think I'm gonna change too." Raikou said before heading after Dallas.

A few minutes later Dallas and Raikou came back and they looked beautiful. Their dresses fitted them so well, both personality wise and body wise, and their makeup and hair intensified their best features making them look absolutely, positively, amazing. Raikou's hair and complexion stood out remarkably well in contrast with her dress and makeup, and Dallas's dress, with the extremely low back, mirrored her fun personality and showed off her amazing figure.

"You guys look gorgeous! No man will be able to resist you guys!" I told them.

"Awww thanks.." they replied, blushing.

"Hey, I think it's your turn to get dressed!" Dallas said.

"You're right!" I said as I grabbed my dress and headed off to the bathroom to change. As I slid the dress over my head I couldn't help but smile to myself. Everything was so perfect. There would be no more akuma tonight. Just dancing and fun. Nothing could ruin this night.

When I walked into the dressing room I noticed that Dallas and Lisa had put on some jewelry. Dallas was wearing a diamond shaped alexandrite on a silver chain, with silver bangles and simple diamond studs. Raikou was wearing a black choker with a teardrop shaped diamond hanging off it, a diamond bracelet, and dangling diamond earrings that matched. I also noticed that Miranda had changed into her gown. She also looked beautiful. She was wearing black gloves, a diamond necklace, and diamond earrings with her dress.

"Oh my gosh! You look amazing!" They exclaimed.

"Thanks." I replied as a blush warmed my already rosy cheeks. "Miranda you look beautiful!" I added.

"Th-thank you..." she smiled hesitantly.

"No problem!" I replied before walking over to the mirror to examine my reflection. I smiled. My makeup and the color of my dress made my eyes blaze a deep blue, and made my skin look even fairer. The flowers in my hair accented the flowers on the sleeves of my dress, and with my long hair pulled elegantly away from my face, you could for once actually see the features of my face without having to put it in a bun or a pony tail.

"Are we ready then?" Asked Dallas. Everyone already had their masks on.

"Almost," I said as I walked over to my stuff and put my flower earrings that had a single diamond in the center, and my flower necklace that matched my earrings on. Once I had my mask on we left the dressing room and headed for the ballroom all the while talking excitedly about the events that could take place.

_**~Raikou~**_

Together we arrived at the ball. Everything looked amazing! There was so much to take in. All the exorcists and others were dressed up to where you couldn't tell them apart. There was beautiful music coming from the live orchestra. Tables were filled with presents for Lenalee and there was lots of food to eat. A huge balcony was at the side of the ball room and at the back was a curtained stage. Christmas lights hung from the ceiling and a large disco ball was attached at the middle. I was so excited. I looked at Dallas and Ashley but couldn't read their expressions because of their masks. We went to put our presents down on the table. I wondered what was in store..


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

_**~Dallas~**_

My ears turned hot as excitement filled my entire being. My stomach was doing flips. I looked over at Raikou and smiled wide at her. I then looked down at my dress and felt like this night would be the best in my life. I adjusted my dress a bit and rested my hands on the poofy skirt, linked my arms with Ashley's and Raikou's and said joyfully, "Let's go find some guys to dance with!" We all chuckled as we walked towards the table with the food. I couldn't help but smile at everything as I plucked a few grapes from a vine and popped them into my mouth. The orchestra played a wonderful, upbeat waltz and I looked around at all the shining lights. My exposed back was slightly cold, and it made me smile wide. "_Oh when Allen sees this..._" I thought, my heart filled with hope.

"This is so...amazing!" I heard Ashley exclaim in awe.

"I know.." Raikou responded. I just looked around, trying to spot familiar faces. It was then that a high pitched static-filled noise fell over the room, and the orchestra abruptly stopped playing. Just about everyone winced and covered their ears at the noise.

"Whoops!" Komui's voice filled our ears and I looked around to see that he was standing on the curtained stage with a wide, satisfied grin plastered to his face and a microphone in his hand. "First of all I'd love to welcome you all to this fine ball! And I would like to wish my sister Lenalee a tremendously happy birthday!" Everyone clapped as a spotlight shined toward the door where Lenalee stood. She smiled reluctantly and waved at everyone as we clapped for her. "Now, everyone...DANCE! EAT! HAVE FUN!" Everyone gave a cheer and Komui fumbled with the microphone before throwing it off-stage at Reever. I chuckled. The orchestra started playing again and I smiled as the soft instruments tickled my ears. Ashley went on tip toe, seeming to be searching the crowd.

"I wonder where the guys are.." She said, disappointment filling her tone.

"I'm sure they're close by..We just can't recognize them what with the masks." Raikou said.

"There they are!" Ashley exclaimed, grabbing hold of my hand.

"Where? How do you know?" I said, looking around frantically.

"Kanda's not wearing a mask, see?" She whispered, bending down to my level and pointing towards him. "Look! They're by the other tables over there." I chuckled. Kanda stood leaning against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He wore a classic black suit and a scowl on his face. Allen had his Crown Clown mask over his eyes and a black suit on as well, and both him and Kanda were bickering. Lavi wore a simple black and white decorated mask, and was just chilling next to them, laughing at their fight. Ashley started walking in their direction and I grabbed Raikou's hand, dragging her along. When we reached them their bickering stopped abruptly. Kanda's eyes widened a bit at the sight of Ashley. Allen smiled wide and waved at me. I waved shyly as a blush crept up my cheeks and then I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Hi boys." I said, laughing. Allen smiled and laughed, greeting us.

"Well hello ladies.." Lavi said with a gleam in his eye, looking us each over individually. His gaze landed on Raikou and his mischievous grin widened. "You look _ravishing_." He said with a wink. Raikou slapped his arm and looked away.

"Stop being stupid." She said, flustered. We all chuckled. Except for Kanda, of course, who just rolled his eyes.

"You look great." Allen said to us.

"Thanks Allen! You do too!" Ashley replied. I blushed massively and mentally slapped myself as I made eye contact with him. _Goodness, relax, Dallas. He was talking to _all _of us._

"Kanda, where's you're mask?" I asked, changing my thought process and grinning suddenly. He gave me a death glare and I widened my eyes innocently.

"I didn't want to wear one." He mumbled belligerently after a mini staring contest between us.

"But look at how dressed up you are! You should let down your hair, do something with your face. Maybe we could add a bow to your hair..."

"Aww, Dallas! I'm surprised he even got cleaned and dressed up for this!" Ashley cut in. We chuckled and Kanda's expression of rage made me laugh.

"Ha-ha, okay Kanda, I'll admit that was mean. I'm sorry." I said, a little frown curving my lips.

He just sighed exasperatedly and walked away, clearly irritated.

"Aww. I made him mad." I mumbled.

"Don't worry about it Dallas. He's an idiot." Allen said with a slight grimace upon his face. I sighed with a small 'yeah'. "_Guess I'll just have to make up for it later somehow._" I thought. I looked at Allen..I really wanted to dance, specifically with him. But I didn't know how to ask and I didn't want to be rejected or anything. I took a breath, ready to say _something _when Lavi chimed in.

"I'm tired of talking! I want to dance!" Lavi whined, and I chuckled nervously. He turned to me, bowed gracefully and held out his hand. "Care to dance, milady?" He said formally, although he broke that formality with a grin. I giggled and took his outstretched hand in mine just as another, upbeat waltz filled the room.

"I guess I have nothing better to do." I laughed. He twirled me into his arms and placed one arm onto my lower back, smiling as the tips of his fingers caressed my exposed skin. His fingers tickled my spine and I cringed, slapping his arm. "Don't do that!" I chuckled.

"I really like this dress you got." He said as we started out with simple twirls and spins which made my purple dress flare out around me.

"Thanks. I do too." I grinned at him as we started gliding around the dance floor. The music was upbeat and filled me with joy. We spun and stepped with the beat, and I felt like I was stepping on air with every move we made.

"You certainly know how to dance.." I breathed, and all Lavi did was smile. Everyone was dancing around us but I felt like we were the center of the crowd. As the music took dramatic lows and highs Lavi guided me by my back, pushing me out from him, guiding me back in, twisting and twirling me everywhere. He put his hands extremely low on my back as the music became very, very soft. "Lavi...What are you.."

I gasped as the music made a sharp crescendo, and Lavi lifted me by my hips into the air as we spun. I put my hands on his shoulders as he put me down when the music softened again for a millisecond, and then we twirled like that again, again, again. I couldn't help but smile wide at him through this. The music turned soft again and our dancing slowed. He lowered his hand and I slapped his arm before he could get anywhere near my ass. "Don't be such a perv." I said, still a bit out of breath from the fast-paced dancing.

"The dance still isn't over you know." He said, avoiding the subject, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I smiled reluctantly. He was right though, I could anticipate the music's dramatic ending that was coming near. The music became loud again and Lavi pushed me out. I spun away from him, to the middle of the floor and closed my eyes until I felt his arms grasp me again, and as the song ended, he dipped me dramatically, our faces close, both of us breathing heavily. I heard applause from the guests and I smiled at him.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" I asked. He put his face closer to mine.

"I dunno." He breathed. I panicked as he came even closer. I could feel his breath on my neck and that's when I straightened up, pulling away from him and brushing myself off.

"Thanks for the dance, Lavi. That was...marvelous." I said before I scurried away to the drinks.

* * *

_**~Ashley~**_

As Dallas and Lavi left for the dance floor I couldn't help but notice the deep blush that warmed Allen's cheeks. When I turned to look at what he was seeing, my eyes went immediately to the extremely low back of Dallas's dress. I laughed inwardly. _He must not have noticed it earlier. He's so cute._

My attention was momentarily drawn away from my thoughts to the dance floor. Lavi was expertly guiding Dallas in a complex dance of spins and steps. I couldn't take my eyes off them. Lavi's skill and Dallas beauty combined captivated not only me but everyone else. _I bet Dallas is enjoying this, _I thought as I smiled to myself.

"Show off," Raikou mumbled under her breath as she crossed her arms over her chest in irritation.

"Awww, Raikou, I'm sure you'll have your turn with Lavi before the nights over!" I laughed, half joking.

"Like I'd want to dance with him!" She exclaimed, but under her anger I detected tenderness in her eyes. I just smiled and laughed. Deep down she knows she likes him.

"Oh my gosh! Raikou look over there!" I said as I pointed to Komui dancing with his Lenalee.

Raikou laughed, "They look cute together."

"Yeah, Lenalee looks like she's actually enjoying herself too!" Despite how obnoxious and out of hand Komui could be, Lenalee still loved him. I envied their bond, their closeness. I grew up without siblings or parents. When my parents died I had nobody, where as Lenalee and Komui had each other. They were lucky.

The song ended only to be replaced with applause. Raikou, Allen and I joined in. But even though Allen was smiling I saw something flicker in his eyes. Was it…jealousy maybe? The thought caused a smile to spread across my face.

I noticed Lavi was walking away from the crowd and over to where we were standing. Dallas wasn't with him.

"Hey Lavi," I said smiling, "did you have fun?"

"Of course! Dancing with a pretty girl is always fun," He said smiling that stupid smile of his. I laughed, Raikou just frowned in annoyance.

"Where's Dallas?" She asked.

"She was walking over to the drinks the last time I saw her. I think I might have been too much for her." He winked.

"Oh shut up." Raikou said.

"Awww! Raikou you're so mean!" He pouted.

"And you're annoying." She said matter of factly.

He grinned, "Come on Raikou, you know you love me!"

"Not even in your dreams." She replied.

"Raikou, will you do me the honor of dancing with me?" He asked bowing and holding out his hand.

She sighed before taking it, "Only if it will get you to leave me alone."

He chuckled, "I'm not making any promises." And together they walked out to the dance floor leaving me and Allen by ourselves.

"Well, looks like we're the only two here now." I said.

"Yeah, I guess we are." We looked at each other before he asked "Would you like to dance, Ashley?"

"Sure, we don't want to be left out of all the fun." I smiled. He led me to the dance floor just as the orchestra began preparations to play another waltz. Allen hesitantly placed his hand on my waist as I placed my own on his shoulder and then the dance began. It didn't seem to be as lively and fiery as the previous waltz but it was still pretty quick.

Allen led me in a combination of simple steps as we moved in unison with the crowd of dancing guests. He was a pretty good dancer. He wasn't as bold and elaborate as Lavi, but he knew what he was doing. Allen moved to spin me and my dress flared out around me. When he spun me back in I smiled. This was fun.

The tempo began to quicken, and we moved faster. But just as soon as we were comfortable with the new tempo it would accelerate again and again, until we were moving at a terrifying speed and those simple steps didn't seem so simple anymore. It took all my concentration to keep up with the music and not fall. My hair and dress whipped around me and I felt like I was soaring through the air. We were moving so fast that my feet barely ever touched the ground. And that made me nervous. One wrong step and we'd fall. But through my nervousness I couldn't help but smile every time we conquered the new faster tempo.

The world seemed to blur around us as the music continuously quickened. We were going so fast at this point that I felt my grip on Allen's shoulder loosen and just when I thought I was going to fall the song came to an abrupt end.

I was out of breath and my face was flushed as we applauded the Orchestra, but despite how tired I was there was a huge grin spread across my face. This was so much fun! I couldn't wait to dance some more. I could only imagine what other fun surprises the night would hold. I thanked Allen for the dance as we desperately made our way over to the drinks.

* * *

_**~Raikou~**_

I followed Lavi until he came to a stop. He slid his hand onto my waist, pulling me closer. He then took my hand in his and we began to sway and move to the rhythm. The music started speeding up. I was beginning to have trouble keeping up and accidentally stepping on Lavi's foot.  
"Ahh, be gentler Raikou!" He said in a stupid voice. My face flushed with embarrassment and anger.  
"Shut up perv-" But before I could say the rest he spun me in a circle. I wasn't expecting this and lost my balance. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for an impact. I opened my eyes realizing I was in Lavi's arms and his face was just inches from mine. He was smiling, I could feel my heartbeat quicken. My face must have been beat red. Just then was the screech of a microphone and again apologies from Komui. Lavi let me go and I got to my feet, trying to get rid of the feeling of jello-legs.  
"I want to thank you all for coming, and hope you enjoying the party so far! I think it's about time to eat some cake, but first~" The orchestra began to play the tune "happy birthday", Komui was the first to start singing but everyone soon followed suit. "Wonderful! Now let there be cake!" he said when we were done.

Everyone began to gravitate towards the tables with cake and presents. Some people were already giving Lenalee her presents. I saw Ashley with Allen and waved to them.  
"Hey, let's get the presents for Lenalee." Ashley said. Allen said he was going to give Lenalee her present later and walked off, Lavi following behind. We found the presents where we had left them and spotted Lenalee who was occupied with her brother. When she saw us she greeted us and took the presents. She then thanked us with hugs and we were off to enjoy the rest of the party.

* * *

_**~Dallas~**_

I ran over to the table with the cake and cut myself a slice, grabbing a fork and taking a bite. _Holy. Shit. _This cake was probably the best cake I had ever eaten in my entire life. The vanilla icing was creamy and smooth, easy to go down and the vanilla base that matched was all moist and warm. It tickled and teased my taste buds. "Mmmm.." I said to myself, savoring the flavor and closing my eyes in pure bliss. Then I remembered that I was in public, and I was getting strange looks. I gulped loudly and spotted that familiar flame of pink hair ahead. I brushed crumbs from my dress and lips and walked to where Raikou and Ashley were standing.

"Hola." I said, mouth still full of cake. Raikou giggled.

"I think you're having too much fun with that cake." She commented as I stuffed the last of it into my mouth.

"Mff?" I mumbled, my cheeks puffy as I chewed. Everyone laughed and I blushed as I swallowed, wiping my mouth. "Did you already give Lenalee your presents?" Everyone nodded but Allen.

"I'll give mine to her later." he said. I nodded and smiled.

"I guess I'll give mine to her now-" I was cut short by the sound of the orchestra tuning up. The lovely overture brought butterflies of excitement to my stomach. I looked around and saw Kanda leaning against a lonely wall, as angry as ever. Maybe, just maybe, I thought, he would dance with me and then he wouldn't be so damn cranky. It was worth a shot, I decided. I heard Lavi ask Ashley to dance as I walked in Kanda's direction.

He sighed in annoyance as I approached him but before he could walk away I caught his shoulder. "Hey, c'mon. You can't be mad at me forever, alright? Dance with me." I said, adding a playful smile in hopes that it would convince him. He looked befuddled.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! Dance with me! What, do you want me to get down on one knee? No? That's what I thought." I giggled as he sighed and I dragged him to the center of the dance floor. He mumbled disagreements and profanities as he looked around.

"Everyone's staring." He said, looking around the room.

"Nice observation." He gave me a look for this remark but I ignored it. The music started playing softly, a small crescendo of stringed instruments. A soft little beat started playing. Violins rang through the hall.

"Oh my gosh! Danse Macabre!" Ashley exclaimed from across the room.

Kanda's cold, reluctant hand rested on the small of my back and his other was in mine as we practically bounced around the ballroom, following the silly beat that had started. We made our way around the room in diamonds of this jumpy little dance. Lavi and Ashley were doing the same, our steps synchronized with each other as we crisscrossed along the floor. I spotted Raikou and Allen watching among the crowd that had encircled us in amazement. We had a steady beat underneath our shoes, taking us around but not in a dizzy fashion. The song was the perfect speed, and we were galloping about the dance floor, dresses flaring, eyes ablaze, hearts pounding, filled with adrenaline. Even Kanda had a hint of a smirk, which really meant something. Kanda twirled me around over and over again until I felt as though I would fall. His arms caught me and we were back into our small prancing until he spun me out. Ashley just so happened to be twirled around at the same time, and we spun around each other on our tip toes as a small, childish, girly beat played for a few seconds. I wrapped my arm around her waist and took her hand in mine, spun her around, laughing as we waltzed about dramatically. Lavi ran over to Kanda and tried to dance with him, but got a swift knock on the head. The cute beat started to crescendo, becoming less girly and in the musical confusion we passed Lavi and Kanda. I broke myself away from Ashley, putting myself into Lavi's arms and leaving her with Kanda.

"You're welcome!" I mouthed to her. She became flustered and slightly angry, Kanda became stiff but after a moment of the music slowing down once more, he offered his hand grudgingly. I smiled at Lavi and we stepped around the ballroom delicately, on tip-toe, floating on the shining floor along with the soothing beat.

"Missed me?" Lavi said, beaming. I smiled but gave no reply as the unpredictable song changed tempos once again. We were moving faster, faster, circling the dance floor once more until I was being twirled. After I did a few spins the rate was slowing, the music becoming softer, giving a sense of descending. Lavi slowed our spinning and we were treading lightly about until the music started getting louder once more. We met Ashley and Kanda in the middle of the floor, switching partners once again and skipping expertly upon the ground. Kanda led me through simple yet elegant moves through the fickle song, and one single violin was pointing out our tune. Anticipation filled the air as I waited for the big crescendo that I knew was coming. Kanda turned me out and about, moving me away from him then back slowly, dipping me slightly as I tilted my head back then snapping me into his arms again. This movement was repeated as we spun, becoming bigger and faster as the music became louder and louder. Pretty soon we were spinning again, practically running around in circles to keep up with the rhythm and the harsh clash of instruments. I became confused, closing my eyes as Kanda lead the dance. Panic rose in my throat, or was that joy? I couldn't tell the difference, it felt the same in my body as my feet moved too fast for me. I opened my eyes and looked into Kanda's. He was smirking, moving our arms up and down, taking me through dance moves faster than I had imagined. My head was reeling as we spun and spun, matching Lavi and Ashley's movements precisely. Before I knew it I was almost touching the ground, both of Kanda's hands held my waist firmly and my arm was above my head. A viola made a tiny noise and then, when the final crescendo hit, Kanda pulled me up. I looked into his hard eyes, and he suddenly let me go. I put a hand on my chest and fanned myself with the other. A chorus of applause rang throughout the hall, shocking us. Lavi looked smug and all expression on Kanda's face had been wiped away. I gave a breathless laugh and smiled at Ashley. We were both extremely flustered. Kanda retreated to the drinks table and I followed him.

"Hey! Thanks for the dance, by the way. It was really fun." He mumbled and turned away. I rolled my eyes at his lack of response. Ashley and the rest of the gang walked up, praises spilling from their mouths. I smiled and laughed. Kanda started walking away and I stomped on his foot to stop him.

"What the fuck?" he shouted, turning around.

"Ashley, Kanda wants to dance with you."

"I DIDN'T FUCKING SAY-"

"No, he really does. Go have some fun." I pushed Ashley into Kanda. Her face became flustered, and Kanda pushed her away from him roughly.

"Hey!" she shouted, the red in her face growing deeper in color.

"I'm not dancing with her." He spat, giving a nasty look in Ashley's direction before giving an even uglier look in mine.

"I DIDN'T WANT TO DANCE WITH YOU ANYWAY!" Ashley shouted, sniffing as if she had smelled something disgusting.

"You two are going to dance, and you're both _damn _well going to like it! Now shoo!" I said, pushing them onto the dance floor.

* * *

_**~Ashley~**_

Dallas quickly ran off, leaving me and Kanda by ourselves on the ball room floor. I looked at Kanda. He seemed just as angry and frustrated as me, although I doubt for the same reasons. His arms were crossed over his chest in a sign of absolute annoyance as he mumbled angrily to himself.

"" I could just barely make out what he said but when I did I was furious.

"Why are you so mean!" I yelled, "I mean seriously! What's so bad about dancing with me? I don't understand…" I trailed off as a feeling of depression settled inside me.

The orchestra had almost finished preparing for the next song when Dallas yelled from across the room "DANCE OR ELSE I WILL DESTROY ALL THE SOBA IN THIS BUILDING!"

"Fuck you!" Kanda yelled in response, with pure distaste spread across his face.

The Orchestra began to play a soft mysterious melody that was barely even audible. I looked up at Kanda; his eyes were filled with annoyance. "Come on Kanda!" Dallas yelled, smiling mischievously.

"Please Kanda?" I added. He looked at me and then at Dallas.

"Ugh! Fine!" he said before taking my hand and rigidly placing the other on my waist just as the music changed from the soft melody to that of a slow waltz. At first it was quite awkward. Kanda was still mad and it showed through the way he led me in the dance, but after a few minutes his anger simmered down to a slight annoyance and I was able to feel more at ease.

The song reminded me of a mix of a very slow ballet waltz and a lullaby. The notes were laced with a heart wrenching sorrow that made it all the more beautiful. There was also an underlying feeling of mystery to it like being in a dark forest with moonlight streaming through the branches. It was a delicate melody. One wrong step, or one wrong move and the whole thing would shatter. That melody seemed to fill our entire beings, manipulating our steps and moves to be just as delicate, sorrowful, and beautiful as it was.

We moved in time with the beat, our movements in sync with one another, as Kanda expertly led us across the floor with ease, all the while my gown flowed and swirled around me with an unearthly grace. He led with a sureness that could only be found in someone who was confident in what they were doing. Our previous fight and everyone around us seemed to melt away as the music overtook us. There was only us and that fragile haunting melody. Kanda slowly spun me around, my dress gracefully flared out around me as if in slow motion. As I came back around into his arms I noticed that his expression seemed to be softer. It wasn't as cold as usual. But that couldn't be. This was Kanda we're talking about. I had to be imagining that. I had to be imagining _this_.

I could hardly believe that this moment was actually happening. I was dancing with Kanda. It all just felt so surreal. When I looked into his eyes again I was met with an intense look. It wasn't mean, just intense. I felt butterflies rise up in my stomach and quickly looked away a slight blush warming my cheeks and a slight smile on my lips.

As the song reached its gradual but quick crescendo we continued moving in the same delicate but powerful way, our moves emphasized by this sudden change in the soft music. I felt my heart wrench with the beauty of both the song and this moment. This time I did not look away from Kanda's intense eyes and in that moment I felt like something secret and unknown had been reveled to me. But that feeling quickly faded away just as the music faded back to its normal volume. And just like the music had gradually gained volume and slight speed at the start of the dance it slowly faded back into nothing and it was over.

We stopped and I looked around trying to remember where I was. It was as if I had awoken from a brilliant and magical dream. Applause filled the room and I looked up at Kanda. Our eyes met and realizing that his hand was still around my waist he quickly let go and stormed off.

"Wait, Kanda!" I called after him but he just continued walking.

I was still standing in the middle of the floor staring off into the direction he ran off too when Dallas, Raikou, Allen, and Lavi rushed over to where I was standing.

"Wow!" Lavi said as he let out a low whistle.

"Oh my god that was intense!" Raikou said eyes wide.

"Kanda can dance his pretty little ass off huh?" Dallas added smirking.

"Yeah he's okay…" Allen halfheartedly said, with a hint of contempt in his eyes.

"Pfsh! Don't lie! We all know that I'm the best dancer here," Lavi winked, smirking.

I silently thanked them for their praises but I wasn't really paying that much attention. All I could think about was Kanda's gentle expression fading into that black mask as he stormed off. _Why does he do that? Did I do something wrong?_

"Speaking of Kanda, where'd he go?" Lavi said as everyone looked around for some sign of the blue haired exorcist.

"Probably has to hide the boner he has from getting so close to Ashley." Dallas winked and everyone laughed. Her comment brought me back to reality and I felt an intense heat rise in my checks.

"Dallas!" I exclaimed, my face burning bright red from embarrassment.

"What? You know it's true!" She smiled.

I gave a small laugh before saying to Dallas and Raikou "Hey you guys want to go out on the balcony and chat? I need to catch my breath for a minute." I smiled wearily.

"Sure," they replied and together we walked toward one of the many balconies lining the hall.

* * *

_**~Raikou~**_

As we walked onto the wide balcony I shivered. I could see my breath come out in little puffs and it made me smile. "So how's everyone's night going?" Dallas asked.

"Alright, I guess." I said, hiding a grin. I was actually enjoying myself.

"I'm okay. I just wish Kanda would stop being such a jerk." Ashley added.

"He's always that way." Dallas said.

"I know, but still. Can't he just be nice this once? It's a party, he should have some fun and loosen up."

I grimaced. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, you know how he is." Dallas nodded and Ashley just frowned. We all sighed. A gentle breeze blew on my cheeks and I shivered.

Dallas sighed. "It feels so good out here. And the sky's all dark and gray, it's just the perfect atmosphere." I nodded.

"If only it would.." Ashley trailed off.

"Would what?" I asked, concerned.

"Snow." Ashley said this as small, fluffy flakes started to fall from the sky. It reminded me of dandruff. Cold, wet, dandruff. I smiled in wonder.

"It's gorgeous." Dallas said quietly.

"It's so..magical." Ashley added, a smile spread across her face.

"Mhm." I said, smiling and admiring the snow. My dress and hair were getting wet and my makeup was probably coming off. "Do we wanna go inside now? It's really cold." I said.

"Yeah, and I'm getting all wet." Said Dallas. Ashley nodded and followed us inside reluctantly.

* * *

_**~Dallas~**_

I sighed as I walked back into the ballroom, shivering with both excitement and anticipation. I saw Allen walk by and I grabbed his arm. "Allen!" I exclaimed, teeth chattering slightly. He smiled, his cheeks pink as I let go of his arm.

"Why are you so cold?" He asked, tilting his head curiously. I pointed towards the dark sky through the balcony.

"Me, Raikou, and Ashley were just outside. It's snowing! Come look!" I pulled him to the balcony doors and shivered closer to him unconsciously as the wind blew and he stared in awe at the sky.

"It sure is beautiful." We stared in silence. A soft little tune started playing. "Would you like to dance?" Allen asked, his light eyes shining. I took his hand as he lead me to the dance floor, letting out a soft little giggle.

"I thought you'd never ask." I said with the brightest smile I had smiled in ages. Our dance was a slow, lovely waltz. Allen's hand hovered over my lower back gently and the other held mine in a tender squeeze. The dance was simple; he wasn't nearly as experienced in dancing as Lavi or Kanda were but he knew the basic steps.

"You really do look beautiful." He said, chin held high. I blushed, looking up at him through my lashes.

"You don't look too bad yourself."

After the dance was done, we bowed (or in my case, curtsied) to each other and then I pulled him into a hug. "That was really fun!" I said, and God, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him ever so badly. I put my forehead against his. "Thank you for the dance, my good man." I chuckled. Allen blushed, seeming unsure of what to do.

"A-anytime." He smiled at me sheepishly.

"Oh! I should probably go give my gift to Lenalee." I said, rushing off to grab my present. Lenalee thanked me with a squeal, a warm squeeze and a friendly kiss on the cheek. I laughed and smiled, said your welcome, then walked off to the drinks. Ashley and Raikou found me and we all jumped around, gushing about the night's events so far. Something told me the night wasn't quite over yet, though. A nagging, itching feeling. I couldn't tell if something good or bad was going to happen. All I knew, was that something BIG was going down. I told Ashley and Raikou this and they chuckled.

"Who knows! Maybe you'll kiss Allen!" Ashley said.

"By the looks of it it seems like you've got a good shot." Raikou added.

"Ahhh! I hope so. I think I'd die though. Yeah. I'd die of happiness." We all giggled for a bit. "Maybe I'll go find him. I wonder where he disappeared off to."

"Yeah! Go find him! Get your man!" Ashley shouted. I slapped my butt and walked off, chuckling.

I hopped onto my toes, searching. Then I found that bobbing white head of his, heading for a room just outside the ballroom. I practically ran towards him. When I had reached the golden arch that lead into the room and peaked in, my heart sank lower than it ever had before. Tears pooled instantly in my eyes. A small, choking noise escaped my throat which is the only thing that separated his and Lenalee's lips so suddenly.

I ran. I ran as fast as I could, tripping multiple times on my heels, over my dress, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything. Tears fell like waterfalls down my eyes and I couldn't see where I was going. I ran as fast as I could from the ballroom. I'm stupid. I'm so _fucking _stupid. How could I ever believe that he possibly had feelings for someone like me? I wasn't as pretty, as skinny, as nice, wonderful, tall and graceful as Lenalee. Who _was_? No one. That's why he chose her.

When I had finally made it out of the ballroom, I ran down the hall a ways and then stopped for breath. I fell to the floor and pounded my hands on my legs as the sobs racked through my body, my nails breaking the skin on my palms.

Why? _Why? Why am I so stupid? _I sat there for a while until I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up through blurry, half-blind eyes. Tall, skinny, long black hair. Kanda. He looked down his nose at me.

"Fuck you." I whispered, for no particular reason, as I shot up. The way he looked at me pissed me off and made me even more upset than I already was. I pushed past him and ran farther down the hall as fast as I could until I reached a balcony. I walked out onto it and let my sobs break the silent air until my voice cracked with pain and my eyes seemed unable to produce anymore tears. I felt as though a bullet had been shot right through my heart. I had never felt so _low_,so _worthless_.

And then I laughed. "Typical." I said to myself bitterly. My voice was dry, my tongue thick. I wiped any expression from my face and took slow, sluggish steps to my room. I opened the door, stripped myself, and collapsed onto my bed, buried six feet under the blankets. The tears started again and I laughed once again through them. "So fucking typical." I whispered with soft, painful cry.

* * *

_**~Ashley~**_

As soon as Dallas had excitedly walked off in search of Allen, I decided to grab a drink of punch and a bit more of that delicious birthday cake. I asked Raikou if she wanted to join me but she declined. I told her I'd be right back and walked off to the snack table by myself.

I had just grabbed a glass of punch and a tantalizing piece of cake when Reever came up to me.

"Ashley!" He said, grabbing my attention, "Komui needs to see you in his office immediately." He was dressed in a black tuxedo which was so different from his casual lab coat, shirt and pants and I had to say, he looked quite handsome.

"All right," I said as I reluctantly put down my untouched cake and punch on the table. And with a sigh I was off to see Komui. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get to return to my cake or the ball for that matter.

When I walked into Komui's notoriously messy office I was shocked to find Kanda sitting on the couch in front of Komui's desk. When he saw me he sighed in annoyance. "_Jerk!" _I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes and took a seat next to Kanda.

"Good evening Ashley," Komui began, "I'm so sorry to have to call you away from tonight's festivities, but we just received an urgent message from some finders in Belgium. There have been an unusual amount of Akuma in Gentlately and the finders we sent to check it out have reported finding innocence. You're mission is to retrieve the innocence and destroy the akuma. You leave immediately."

"Okay," I reply and then get up and head for my room to pack. I didn't really mind having to leave for a mission, but it was kind of annoying that it had to be in the middle of the ball. It was even more annoying that I'd be going with Kanda. Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe Kanda will have a change of heart and be nice for once. I mean when we were dancing it was like I was dancing with someone else. Or maybe I was just imagining that.

When I reach my room I immediately change into my uniform, grab my innocence, and pack my suitcase. I didn't have time to wash the make up off of my face. I'd have to do that on the train. I looked at the clock in my room and saw that it was already midnight. _Man, tomorrow's gonna suck! _I groan inwardly as I imagine the aftermath of staying up so late. Hopefully there will be time to sleep on the train.

Packed and ready to go I took one last look at my room, the comforting blue walls, warm colored furniture, all of my belongings, and suddenly I realized that I didn't want to leave. This was my home. This was my haven. But as much as I didn't want to leave it was nice to know that this would be here when I got back. It was nice to know that I actually, for the first time, belonged somewhere. And so without further thought and with a smile spread across my face I closed the door behind me and headed off to the canals.

* * *

_**~Raikou~**_

The lights had been turned on, making me squint as my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. People were helping take down the decorations, put up the food, and clean up the mess of the party.

I didn't know where Ashley or Dallas were. I had spent the remainder or the party looking for them but they were nowhere to be found. Ashley had said she'd be right back after going off to get some food and Dallas disappeared after going after Allen.

Eventually I gave up looking for them and headed back to my room where I drifted off to sleep.


	31. Chapter 31

_**~Dallas~**_

SUNDAY

**...**

MONDAY

They weren't kidding when they said It felt like a part of your heart had been wrenched out of your chest. Those angsty teenage romance novels? They didn't lie. Kind of funny, thinking about it, actually. It's like your body doesn't know where else to hurt but your heart. I'm in the numb stage, now. These past couple of days have been silent except for the occasional knock on my door from the concerned. These past nights, however, have been filled with cries of despair and drowned in choking tears.

For once, I wasn't hungry. Usually, you'd think not eating for this long would have me writhing in pain, but I've got water as a nutrient source. The emotional pain is too strong to even think about physical pain. If I ate anything I know I'd just puke it all up anyways.

I couldn't bear to look in a mirror. I'd never felt so low; I didn't need anymore motivation to feel lower. I could feel myself slipping away. The old Dallas fading behind a new, lack-luster, pale ghost of a child. I hadn't showered since the day of the ball, (Sunday) nor had I put on any clothes. All I had on were undergarments. I didn't see why it mattered, anyway.

It's not like people didn't notice my speedy exit from the ball, and my slow yet steady fall from social life. I felt like no one wanted to confront me about it, though. Maybe they thought it was just a phase. No one had time to worry about such trivial things at the Order. Raikou had tried to visit me countless times during the past days, but what with the door locked and my lack of cooperation, I suppose that keeping up conversation was hard. Komui even came to my door once or twice yesterday.

No missions.

No commitments.

I guessed that this would be considered vacation for an exorcist. Lost in your own thoughts, unable to communicate with words for fear of cries of pain being released instead. Unable to function correctly. So it seemed.

Lenalee came with Komui once and left dumplings outside my door. I hope they rot.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door that pulled me back into the present. A soft, "Dallas?" from Allen protruded my ears. And although part of me was slightly lifted by the fact that he seemed concerned, I couldn't bring myself to do anything about this situation. My feelings were confused. "I miss you." The words that fell from his mouth made my heart sing a hopeful song. "Why aren't you around anymore? You won't even eat anything...Is something wrong?"

My heart dropped as quickly as it had lifted. Images from that night filled my head. Lenalee's a his tight embrace, their lips almost inseparable... _Don't you know? You're what's wrong._ I never answered. He left. I cried so hard that I puked.

Maybe I should get up now.

Then again, maybe not.

TUESDAY

I woke up to the blindingly bright sun's rays staring at me through the stain glass window. I woke up differently this morning. It was definitely the push of motivation from the amount of self-disgust I felt that made me stand up unsteadily from my bed. The feel of my hair and the chalky taste in my mouth made me sick to my acid-filled stomach. Today was going to be different. I would make it different.

I needed to suck it the fuck up. Because we're in the middle of a war. And there's no way I will let myself fall apart over a boy when there are people dying out there. At least, that's how I'd like to think, isn't it? Because that's how I _should_ think, and yet I still can't pull away from that inky web of depression.

I looked in the mirror for the first time in two days. Two days seems so short, but trust me when I say that you lose the time in your thoughts. I wasn't as bad as I had thought, although my make up was a bit scary. My hair was a complete matted mess and my undergarments were a little looser than I remember. I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment, silent.

And then I smiled. An award-winning smile, one that I've practiced for years. Perfect. I grabbed a bundle of loose clothes, threw a robe over my shoulders and opened my door with a creak. Walking through the hall sluggishly, I didn't pay attention to people, fearing that if I did I would run into someone I knew. Like _him_. But I didn't, thankfully.

You know, it's very easy to cry in a shower. No one knows your crying, especially if you can keep your screams in. Which I did. I just let the tears fall, an occasional shaky breath escape my chapped lips, and cleaned myself methodically until my skin was raw and pink.

Why? Why was I so upset? I guess that might be the real question here. Not, "Why me?" but, "Why is this affecting me so greatly?". It's because I invested so much time on him. He was in almost my every waking thought, I had dreamed up many fantasies, futures with him about how we would save the world and fall in love and get married, yadda yadda. It hurt because I had deluded myself into thinking that he had felt the same way. But, evidently, he did not.

I walked back to my room, taking the long deserted route I knew would let me pass by the balcony I had used that night. My new sanctuary. I found it and sighed a breath of relief. I approached the balcony's edge and grabbed the banister, looking at the unfathomable sky. Oh, how many questions I could ask...and yet I knew the mysterious sky would never reveal its secrets. Silent tears made their way down my cheeks. _God, I suck._

Footsteps became louder as they approached and made my watery eyes widen, my heart beat quicken. I turned sharply and my eyes revealed none other than Yu Kanda.

Of course. The only one who had ever seen me so torn apart. Great, lovely. Just one more thing he could use against me. I can just hear it now: "_Crying in public, how shameful. You're a disgusting creature."_

I wiped my eyes violently with my sleeve. "What do you want?" The sound of my voice was unfamiliar. It cracked in all the wrong places, dry, my mouth slack. It was kind of funny how dreadfully small I sounded.

"What happened with you and Beansprout?" He asked curtly, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his eyes piercing my soul.

"Nothing. Nothing went on with me and...Allen." His name sent daggers through my chest. "I don't see why you give a shit anyway." I spat.

"I don't."

"Then why the fuck are you asking?" I was screaming now, getting in his face. He didn't even flinch. I gave him a shove. "Just go away!" I shouted hoarsely, tears escaping my eyes. That was when I started beating on his chest, wanting something to do, someone to blame. "Just...leave...me alone..." it came out in a broken whisper as I sank to the floor, the little energy I had had wasted on softly pounding at the tall dark-eyed exorcist's chest. He pitied me. And it pissed me off. I dropped my hands as I sank, curling them into fists in my hair as the sobs racked my body.

"Don't cry." He said harshly.

"Fuck you." I tried to sound mean, but it ended up broken and pathetic beneath the sobs. Kanda sighed exasperatedly.

"Don't cry over him. He's not worth it." He said fiercely. He took a deep breath. "Ashley's in the infirmary. She's been asking for you." This was all he had to say for me to snap out of my nightmare.

* * *

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	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

_~Ashley~_

I jolted awake at the loud screech of the train's brakes and the toot of its ever friendly whistle, announcing that we had arrived at our destination. I yawned and looked out the window. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the city but all I could see was the dull mundane platform of the station. I sighed before grabbing my suitcase and heading for the exit, not caring if Kanda was following or not.

I honestly could not wait to get off the train. Having to go on a mission with Kanda was bad enough, but the train ride was absolutely unbearable. Kanda, as expected, didn't say a word or try to be friendly in any way, shape, or form. He just sat there, arms crossed over his chest with a scowl on his face. I know that I should have expected that, but after the ball, after _that __dance_, I thought things would be slightly different. I thought that maybe there was something there, but Kanda was his cold distant self, and that only increased the puzzling enigma surrounding the dance that we had shared.

When I stepped off the train and onto the cobblestone platform a light snow had begun to fall. I pulled my coat closer around me and turned around to look for Kanda. When I spotted him walking off the train I headed toward his direction.

"Where do you think the finders are?" I asked. "They were supposed to meet us here at the station, but I don't see them."

"I don't know. Let's look around," Kanda replied plainly.

"Okay," I said as we walked out of the station and into the city of Ghent.

The city was breathtaking. Golden light illuminated the Gothic styled buildings as the river that ran through the city, Leie, gleamed silver in the lamplight. Snow iced the streets and rooftops, and when caught in the lamplight they glistened with all the magnificence of a thousand diamonds, turning the city into a winter wonderland. The snow seemed to have caused a hushed silence to fall over the city, giving it an even more magical feel. I couldn't help but comment as we passed under an intricately carved archway, "This city is magnificent!" Kanda just "tched" in response and continued walking. _Typical,_ I thought to myself.

As we walked through the city, everything appeared to be normal. Merchants and citizens were going about their normal business. The city seemed peaceful and calm, nothing like a city full of akuma ready to kill.

It was when Kanda and I were passing over the Leie on the bridge that I began to get a feeling that something was seriously wrong. But I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. Ignoring the feeling for a moment I ran to the edge of the bridge to gaze at the icy river. People were ice skating and making snowmen on the edges of the river. Looking at it, I couldn't help but smile.

"We're on a mission, not vacation," Kanda said gruffly as he passed me.

I turned away from the river to look at him, my smile now a frown, "What's your problem?"

He didn't reply. He just continued to walk. _Jerk! _I thought before following after him.

We had reached the end of the bridge and were walking back into the city when a curious scene began to unfold before us. Two shady looking men had been trailing after an elderly woman. At first I had thought nothing of it, well, that was until they began to try to rob her. The old woman was struggling to put up a fight and, ignoring Kanda's warning, I instinctively ran toward the scene to help her.

"Idiot," Kanda muttered under his breath before running after me.

I had placed myself in between the two men and the woman and activated my innocence. The men were startled at first, then, with a quick glance at each other, they looked back at me with smiles full of malice spread across their faces. The woman behind me had begun to laugh eerily and when I turned around to look at her, her face was cast in shadow and she wore the same smile as the two men.

"Thank you sooo much dearie for saving me!" The woman said in a bone-chilling voice, "It'll be the last thing you ever do, he he he!" And in that instant both the woman and the two men shed their skins to reveal the Akuma that they were.

There was just barely enough time for me to react. Sword in hand, I blocked an attack right as mudgen sliced through the akuma that had been the old woman, causing her to explode into fine dust. The Akuma's destruction momentarily distracted the remaining two Akuma long enough for my sword to slice through their bodies and with that, it was over. Or so it appeared.

I had turned to face Kanda and was about to say something when out of nowhere hundreds of Akuma appeared in the sky flying towards us like a plague of locusts devouring everything in their paths. The peaceful city turned out to not be so peaceful after all.

I raised my sword, readying myself to fight. "We should split up! We have to find the innocence before they do!"

"Fine," Kanda replied.

Heading in a different direction than Kanda I ran into the swarm slashing and striking at anything that crossed my path. All the while I kept my eyes open looking for any sign of the innocence. The amount of Akuma surprised me. As soon as one exploded into dust another would take its place. Even more surprising was that they were all level one Akuma. It seemed strange that there weren't any level two akuma…Unless they were already on the trail of the innocence and the level ones were just a means of delaying us! In that case, in order to find the innocence, I just needed to find level two akuma and they more than likely were somewhere in the heart of the city.

Hoping to prove my theory true, I made my way toward the heart of the city. I was doing pretty well, despite how overwhelming the amount of Akuma were. I couldn't help but smile as I successfully blocked and attacked with each and every step. I had definitely improved, and that knowledge only increased my strength.

I was moving closer and closer toward the heart of the city. I sliced through another Akuma and as soon as the sickly dust cleared I realized that I was standing all alone in an empty alleyway. There was not an Akuma in sight.

_ This isn't right_, I thought. Keeping my innocence raised I cautiously walked through the alley, listening and looking for any sign of danger. My instincts were screaming for me to get out of there, which only confirmed that this is where I needed to be. The snow was now falling heavily, turning into what would soon be a storm. A gust of wind blew through my hair stinging my face and eyes. Momentarily blinded I rubbed my eyes letting my guard down for only a second, but that was all they needed. One second I was wiping the cold from my eyes and the next the wind has been knocked out of me and I was lying in the snow. By the time I regained my breath and bearings I was just barely able to get up and block their attacks.

There were three of them, hovering in the air. One was a monstrous creature with two insect like heads that each contained a set of giant metal pincers. The second was a carnivorous plant. It had no eyes, only a pair of big cracked red lips with a set of razor sharp teeth and thorny vines. Dark purple liquid oozed from its mouth. I could only assume that it was acid. The last one was something I had never seen before. It appeared more human than the others, with a dark black body and big black horns. It was the most terrifying out of the three. It was also, I assumed, the one that had hit me.

"Awww she got up," the plant akuma said with much disappointment, "I was so looking forward to ripping her apart!"

"It just gives us more time to _play _with her!" both the insect heads said simultaneously before smiling maliciously.

"You're in way over you head little exorcist." The black akuma laughed darkly to itself before sitting down on a rooftop, as if to enjoy the show. It was then that the insect and plant akuma both lunged toward me. Vines and pincers were at every turn. It took all my might just to block them and stay alive. Sooner or later I was going to have to call upon the Defender of Heaven. But I was hoping to defeat them without the help of the dragon. I was afraid that I wouldn't be strong enough to use that attack without it consuming all of my energy.

I had just blocked another one of the insect's attacks when a line of dark purple poison was projected at me. I tried to dodge it but I wasn't fast enough. I screamed in pain, instinctively grabbing my arm, as the poison burned my arm, eating away at the flesh.

"Her screams are beautiful, aren't they?!" the insect Akuma said gleefully to the plant Akuma, "let's hear more!"

The two akuma took their chance to attack, taking advantage of my moment of weakness; all the while the black one continued to watch from the sidelines. Vines shot toward my face, scratching me with their endless thorns and tangling themselves in my hair. Pincers snapped at me, bruising and breaking. I tried to defend myself, but it was no use; their attacks were relentless.

"What a pathetic little exorcist," said the plant akuma, as its vines slowly began to lift me up in the air towards its evil, grinning mouth. The insect continued to attack. All around me was the sound of laughter, crazed, evil laughter. Frantically I tried to cut the vines holding me but it was no use. More just kept coming to take the place of the ones I managed to cut and they were too tangled up in my hair. My hair! That was when I realized that in order to get free, I'd have to sacrifice my hair. I knew I'd regret this later, but living was more important than something as vain as my hair. So without a second thought, I took my sword, positioned it behind me, and quickly sliced through the blonde strands. I then slashed through the remaining vines which sent me falling toward the Akuma's mouth.

Using the fall to my advantage, I aimed my sword at the akuma, impaling it as it made contact. I jumped back and landed on the ground right as it exploded into dust. _One down, and two to go_, I thought to myself.

The insect akuma wasn't much of a threat by itself. A few seconds later I had swung my sword at the insect's two giant heads, decapitating it and sending it exploding into dust.

It was now me and the black Akuma. So far it had stayed out of the fight, content with just observing it. It was this fact that freaked me out the most.

"Pathetic, level two's can never get anything done." The akuma sighed, "Looks like I'm going to have to take care of her myself." It then jumped off the rooftop before walking towards me.

_ Level two's? Then that must mean this is stronger than a level two…That would make it a level three?! _My eyes grew wide at the realization. I had no idea that there even were level three Akuma, but it made sense. How was I supposed to defeat a level three? I was already pretty beat up from the two level twos. _I guess I'll just have to figure something out_, I thought.

I ran towards it and attacked the akuma only to have it deflect my blow as if it had been nothing more than a stick. It then punched me, sending me flying through the air and into the hard concrete of a brick wall. Something cracked, a rib, maybe? I coughed up blood before falling face-first into the snow.

"That…FUCKING HURT!" I screamed as I pulled myself up off the ground and ran after the akuma dealing one blow after the other. Every effort I made was practically useless, for nothing I did left a scratch on his dark metallic skin, but every punch I received left me more damaged than the one before it. I was not going to give up though. I couldn't. I had come too far to let that happen. I continued on in a frenzy of madness. I _was _not going to let him beat me.

"Give it up, little exorcist girl. You are weak and pathetic. Nothing you do will hurt me. I'm surprised the innocence chose a weakling like you to wield it," mocked the demon.

"Shut up!" I screamed, striking at it, only to have it shoot up in the air at the last minute and land directly behind me. I quickly turned around only to receive another painful blow. "That's it!" eyes blazing and raising my glowing sword above my head, I yelled, "Saint's Sword Defender of Heaven!"

My innocence began to take on a silvery-blue glow, illuminating it, and, like before, the light began to collect and manifest itself into a dragon. As it formed I slowly became aware of another consciousness growing inside of me. When the dragon opened its eyes this new consciousness awakened. What the dragon saw, that part of me saw. What the dragon felt, that part of me felt. I commanded the dragon just as I commanded my sword, only the dragon was me in another form. It was just another part of me wielding the power of my innocence.

The dragon fully formed, I charged, both running and flying toward the Akuma. With sword, teeth, and claws, I attacked, relentlessly, doing everything in my power to destroy the monster. The monster dodged, blocked, and attacked in response.

"Hahahaha! You think _this _can defeat me?" he laughed.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" I yelled, enraged. The dragon part of me roared before letting out a steady stream of hot blue fire at the Akuma, engulfing it in flame. The akuma emerged from the flame, glowing bright red, but completely unharmed and undeterred.

"Not even a scratch, pathetic!"

I gripped my sword and struck at the Akuma only to have the attack blocked and receive a punch to the face. I staggered back from the force of the blow but quickly regained my bearings before persistently attacking again.

I couldn't believe that this Akuma could so easily defend and attack both me and the dragon, and to make matters worse I could already feel the effects of the Defender of Heaven taking its toll on me. I didn't know how much longer I could keep this up.

I could taste the blood in my mouth. I could feel it running down my face. My whole body ached. But despite the pain, I continued fighting. I continued to strike, scratch, bite, and breathe fire, just as I continued to be punched, kicked and beaten. _Where was Kanda? _I couldn't help but wonder. I hoped he found the innocence. I hated to admit it but I needed his help. I couldn't do this alone…I wasn't strong enough…

The demon struck me in the chest. I coughed up more blood as I fell back, but before I reached the ground the akuma picked me up. Holding me by my throat, he dealt one punch after another. I tried to fight back, to get out of his choking grasp, but there was nothing I could do. Already my connection with the dragon was fading until it had disappeared completely. "Your blood's so beautiful, I want to see more of it!" it said lustfully before taking my arm and breaking it. I screamed. I was too tired to fight back, too tired to move. My sword hung limply at my side. All I wanted was just to pass out into the comfort of darkness where all the agonizing pain would disappear.

Just when I was about to give up completely, I heard the familiar sound of a sword hitting metal. I opened my eyes and behind the akuma I could see Kanda attacking what looked like another level three who was carrying the innocence.

"Kan…da…" I managed to say.

"Hmmm?" The level three said cocking its head to the side before looking behind them, "Oh is that one of your exorcist friends? Well he'll be dead soon too." The demon grinned before kicking me so hard I ended up choking on my own blood.

"Kanda!" I yelled it this time, catching his attention but receiving another blow in the process.

"Damn it!" he swore before striking again at the Akuma with the innocence. Only to have it fly up next to the Akuma holding me.

"Step any closer and I'll kill her," it threatened.

"Tch," was Kanda's only remark before taking a step towards the innocence.

That was a big mistake. As soon as Kanda stepped forward the Akuma's grip on my throat tightened closing off my access to air. Futilely I tried to pry away its iron grip.

Kanda immediately stopped and the grip around my throat loosened, leaving me gasping for air. Rage and what looked like irritation was displayed plainly on his face.

"I don't have time for this," he said before quickly running toward the akuma and with one clean movement sliced it in half.

The hand around my throat disappeared, sending me falling to the ground. When my back made contact with the ground I let out an agonizing moan, the snow had done nothing to break my fall. All I could do was lie there. It was too painful to even think about moving and it took all of the little strength that remained to just stay awake.

Kanda turned his attention back to the other Akuma who was already gone. His attack only took a second but it was all the Akuma needed to escape. I couldn't believe it. We failed. The innocence was gone and it was all because I couldn't defend myself, and I absolutely hated myself for that. The tears that began to form in my eyes were not just from the pain.

Kanda turned around to face me, and I must say, he looked quite scary. His dark eyes seemed to smolder with rage. "You've got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Kanda spat, "They got away! They fucking got away with the innocence because I had to save your sorry ass! You're a fucking idiot! If you can't handle fighting akuma by yourself then you're not meant to be here! The innocence made a mistake! I should have just let you die! It would have saved the order from more failures! You…"

I didn't get to hear the rest, for I had faded into the comforting numbness of darkness, but I had heard enough to make me never want to wake up from that darkness. There, I wouldn't have to face the pain or the disappointment. There, I wouldn't have to face Kanda.

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reviews are greatly appreciated, please show your support! :)


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

_**~Raikou~**_

I knocked tentatively on Dallas's painted door and got no reply. I knocked a couple more times and she never answered. "_What a fucking bitch. She should be ashamed of herself._" Well...that wasn't very nice.

I walked away slowly with my head down and wandered the halls of the Order aimlessly. Ashley was in the infirmary. I should probably give her another visit just in case she's awake. _She was being stupid. She should have left the akuma alone and saved herself. Humans can be so trivial._

Wait, what am I thinking. I _am_ human. _You should feel more above them. Our "friends" are so distasteful lately. _

I didn't understand why my thoughts were coming across so strange today. I was fighting with myself internally. One voice was feeding nasty thoughts and disrespectful images to my head while the other was just trying to make sense of this other guy. _It'd be so much easier just to leave this place and go somewhere better, wouldn't it? Meet stronger people and do _much _better things._

_ The things I'm doing now are fine, aren't they?_

_ Oh please. I wait on my"friends" hand and foot and get nothing in return. I don't get the cool outfits, I don't get the praise for saving them._

_ That's all material stuff, it doesn't really matter._

_ I know it does._

_ No it doesn't._

_ You're a disgrace. Is this what your father would have wanted you to be? A silly little servant who occasionally helps out the big guys but ultimately sits around doing nothing?_

_ …_

_ That's what I thought._

_ …_

_ Mind if I take over for a bit?_

_ What?_

_ …_

When the thoughts in reply stopped I noticed some concerned people looking at me so I walked to my room. I laughed. I must be really bored to make up stupid conversations with myself. It was a pretty boring time at the Order. Besides Ashley getting beat up. I turned around and went back to sit at her bedside. Just then Dallas walked in. She looked sick. She saw Ashley and I thought she'd cry so I hugged her.

_Ew. Tears. This girl looks disgusting. Can she use a hair brush? Get her off of me, this is gross._

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**Bloodcoveredkisses: **I hope you guys liked this chapter! Me and my friends are trying to have one each week. Please don't forget to leave a review and let us know if you want more, or what you think, or anything!** Constructive criticism **is always welcome. Anyways, love you guys! See you next week. :)


	34. Chapter 34

**BloodCoveredKisses: **Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter of **Almost -Man**! Oooh, lots of drama starting to build up..tsk, tsk. Anywho, keep the feedback coming! It's super appreciated! We love you guys and thank you so much for reading! Tell us what you think! We're welcome to anything. We're gonna try to update at least once a week from now on. Hopefully! Anywho, please enjoy.

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Chapter 34

_~Dallas~_

I burst into the infirmary in a frenzy, eyes and hair wild. When I spotted Ashley I thought I might burst into tears. A pathetic whimper escaped my lips. Raikou bolted from the chair next to Ashley's bed and ran to embrace me.

"It's okay. She's just sleeping. Shh..." She pat my back reassuringly. I collected myself and thanked Raikou before walking to Ashley's bedside. Her face was beaten and bruised pretty badly, and her beautiful blond locks had been cut quite unevenly to just above her shoulders. This is all I could see as she lay, tucked in in her hospital bed. I hate hospitals.

"Her hair..." I muttered, shocked.

"It looks nice, I think." Raikou said, smiling lightly. "Where have you been lately?" Her voice was more concerned now. I snapped out of my pity party and looked at Raikou. She looked so damn tired, and I felt so selfish for leaving her alone for so long. If I had known that Ashley was beaten up this badly, I would have collected myself sooner. But no, I had to be conceited and worry about _boy _problems, of all things.

"I'm so sorry Raikou," I said, my voice cracking. She shook her head.

"No, it's okay," She was about to go on, but just then Ashley began to stir. Raikou and I huddled around her bed and I grabbed one of Ashley's hands, tears stinging my raw eyes.

"Ashley?" I whispered. Her eyes fluttered open, her brow furrowing. When her eyes focused on me she smiled a very small, painful-looking smile.

"Hey."

"Hey?! That's all you can say? What happened? How long have you been in here?" She stretched a little, wincing before she stopped abruptly and stared at us.

"I got here yesterday. I was in a pretty bad fight with a level three akuma."

"Level 3? They have those?" Raikou asked, reading my astonished mind. Why hadn't the order told us about it?

"Apparently. Nothing I did even left a mark. Kanda,"-She said his name with distaste- "had to save me. It was...pretty terrible. We lost the innocence, and he told me that he should have just let me die. He said that I didn't belong here, and that the innocence made a mistake..." Her voice cracked.

"That fucking asshole." I was pissed. My face got hot and it was nice to feel angry instead of sad for a change.

"He should be ashamed of himself." Raikou said, edge in her voice.

"No, this is fucking unacceptable. I'm going to kick his ass. I'm not kidding. Where is that bastard?!" I started pacing, fuming.

"It's okay guys, I just wanna get better right now."

"It's NOT okay." I shouted. Raikou agreed, and Ashley looked shocked.

"It's not worth it." She mumbled after a moment of silence. Raikou pat her head and I grabbed her hand again.

"Of course it is. He deserves to burn for being such a dick to you." Raikou said. Ashley laughed. "Can we talk about something else?" she asked. Raikou nodded.

"Oh, hey, Dallas, what happened at the ball? Did you and Allen kiss?!" she said.

"Oh my gosh I totally forgot about that! Yeah, what happened?!" Ashley added in. My anger deflated in an instant.

"...No. _We_ didn't kiss...uh, I walked in on him and Lenalee making out, so I ran out of the ball..." I chuckled nervously, "It was pretty bad..." Silence filled the room and I wanted to scream, to break something, anything, just to hear _anything_ but this piercing silence. I hated silence. It made me think. Remember.

"I'm so sorry." Ashley said, sympathy laced within her words.

"He's stupid." Raikou said. I laughed halfheartedly.

"I mean it's okay, I guess. Well, no, it's not, but I have to get over it. It was a distraction from missions and stuff anyway." I said this without much feeling.

The nurse came in once more. "You girls must leave now. Ashley needs her pain and healing medication. Visiting hours are over!" She pushed me and Raikou out the door and shut it firmly. Raikou stuck out her tongue at the door in protest. She then turned to me and gave me a sympathetic glance.

"Allen was nice and all, but you'll be okay." She said hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good with words,"

"It's fine." I cut her off. Avoiding the subject of Allen was what was best for me now. I had enough reminding me of him already. So, I decided to focus all of my energy on hating Kanda. It was a lot easier to hate rather than to miss someone.

"Do you know where Kanda is?" I spat. Raikou was taken aback by my fierce mood change.

"No..Maybe go to his room?"

"Good idea. Thanks."

"Are you gonna bitch him out?"

"Yep."

Raikou chuckled and we started heading towards Kanda's room. On our way, though, Komui stopped us. He smiled genuinely at me.

"Ah, Dallas! I'm so glad you're feeling better again! And Raikou, nice to see you as always. I'd like to ask you to report to the Finder's quarters for I believe they have a mission for you there. Please go as quickly as you can."

"Okay." She said, before nodding a goodbye to me and scurrying off, pink locks bouncing. Komui and I stood alone in the hallway.

"How's our dear Ashley holding up?"

"She's doing well." I didn't really want to talk to Komui. After all, his sister was sort of my enemy at this point.

"Good, good. I'd better go check up on her." I started to walk away once he said this. He caught me by the shoulder. "Oh, and Dallas?"

"Hmm?"

"If you ever need to talk, you do know I'm here for you, right? I want you to think of me as...say, an older brother. I'll always be here if ever you need help or guidance." He seemed like he really meant it. It meant a lot to me and made me want to warm up to him. On impulse, I gave him a hug. He squeezed me tight, reassuringly. "Thank you, Komaoi." I smiled as I let go. "Oh, by the way. Do you know where Kanda is?"

"Ah! Yes, as a matter of fact I do~. He was heading towards the balcony on the twenty-seventh floor. It's to the left of the elevator when you get there." I waved a goodbye and scurried off. Boy, was I gonna let that bastard have it.

I hopped up onto the upside-down pyramid of an elevator and rode it silently to the 27th floor and wandered the halls a bit before coming upon the aforementioned balcony. The only sound was the soft padding of my feet against the cold stony floor. I approached the balcony calmly, but when I saw Kanda standing there, my mind exploded in a fiery rage.

"What the _fuck _is wrong with you?!" I shouted, slapping his arm as hard as I could as he turned to face me, eyes slightly shocked but otherwise emotionless.

"Tch."

"Don't you _dare _'tch' me. What happened back there with you and Ashley, huh? Why would you say shit like that to her?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He turned away, brushing me off like a piece of garbage. I got in between him and the banister, our faces inches apart.

"I think you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. Ashley's worth more than you'll ever be. It's really sad that when things don't go your way, you put down amazing people like her just to feel better or some shit. The innocence _didn't _make a mistake by choosing her. _You_ made a mistake by not being there. What the fuck made you think she could handle a level three all by herself?" He didn't say anything, just stared his death glare, his dark eyes piercing my soul, his cold breath on my head. His silence made me furious. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"You don't know a goddamn thing about me." He spat. I was shocked into silence, his presence overpowering me. I backed away a few inches, holding onto the banister as he proceeded. "You've got no fucking right to tell me shit. You're a selfish, pitiful, _weak_ little brat. We're in the middle of a fucking war and you're worried about a stupid little beansprout? Get the fuck over it."

His words struck me like a boulder to my chest. My eyes, which I thought couldn't possibly produce any more tears, began to well up and bubble over. I didn't know what to say. He was right, after all. I was worthless. And it wasn't all worth it. I was being a selfish bitch. _God, I hate myself. _

I just stared at Kanda, dumbstruck. The silent tears became choking sobs and I covered my eyes as I made horrendous cries. He looked at me angrily, almost irritated by my tears, which I could imagine he was. He gave a great sigh.

"Stop that." He said, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. My vision was blurred as he leaned closer with a handkerchief. "Just fucking stop crying, okay? I didn't mean it."

"Yes you did." I sniffled out. "And the worst part is, you're right. I _am_ worthless." I didn't know why I was wasting my time in front of him, and I also didn't know why he was wasting his time still standing here with me, but he was. And for some reason, that made me feel something for him. I wasn't sure what it was. I always enjoyed Kanda's no-bullshit attitude. And sure, he was being a major asshat. But for some reason something within me either sparked, or cracked. I couldn't tell which, but I didn't care. Within that moment, as mine cleared, something in Kanda's eyes seemed a bit softer.

We stood in silence. After wiping my eyes, I gave him the handkerchief back. "I'm sorry for bitching and complaining to you. But what you did to Ashley wasn't okay." He didn't say anything, just stared silently into my eyes. "But somehow, you're the only one who's seen me like this, and you're the only one who knows about what happened with Allen and Lenalee." I had absolutely no idea where I was going with this little spiel, but I felt I had to appeal to Kanda in some way. I looked down at my hands, playing with them as I spoke. "I guess what I'm saying is thanks. You really don't take any shit. I respect that, and it helps keep me in check sometimes." I gave a nervous chuckle, looking into his slightly confused eyes, our faces just inches apart.

"Kanda, I..." I trailed off, not sure what to say, not sure what was coming over me. Loneliness, maybe? But in that moment I just wanted someone. That desperate desire pushed me to make my next huge mistake.

On impulse, I reached up, grabbing Kanda's shoulders and pressing my lips to his. Almost as soon as we made contact he pushed me away forcefully. "What the fuck?!" He shouted, wiping his mouth as he backed away. _Shit. How the fuck did that happen? _My stomach dropped.

"Wait, I'm sorry! I didn't mean-" I started, but stopped as he gave me a disgusted look.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He said before briskly walking away. _Well. That was awkward._


	35. Chapter 35

Hey guys! As always, sorry for the wait. Hope you like this one!

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Chapter 35_  
_

_~Ashley~_

It had been a week since my last mission, and although I had recovered considerably, I was still in no condition to leave the infirmary. Actually it wasn't so much my physical injuries that prevented me from leaving as it was the mental ones. Both the battle and Kanda's words had left me in a state of helpless depression. All of my new found confidence and sense of belonging had vanished. I was so afraid of going back out there, not just back to the battlefield, but to the order. I was afraid of facing everyone. It was my fault that we lost the innocence and I didn't think I could bear facing the rest of the order. I especially couldn't face Kanda. Not after what he said to me. And here in the infirmary, except for Dallas, Raikou, and Lavi, I was cut off from the order. Here I wouldn't have to face anyone.

I knew that I should try to pull it together, to get out of the infirmary and back on my feet ASAP, but I couldn't, not yet. I had an excuse to hide and I was going to use it as long as I possibly could.

Kanda's words constantly echoed in my head, gnawing at me and reminding me that I was a pathetic weakling who didn't belong. My dreams were haunted with the images from that night. There was no escape from the nightmare, from the truth. Sometimes I wished that I could go back into the drug induced stupor that I had been in.

But I was getting better. As each day passed, I was able to push the pain and hurt further and further down in an attempt to forget about it. I wasn't going to cry, I wouldn't let myself. It would only show that I really was weak. Besides, crying wasn't going to fix anything. I knew bottling up my emotions like this couldn't be good for me, but I didn't care. If I could hide the pain away then that was better than confronting it.

However, there was one time when I did let myself cry. It was when I had first come back to consciousness, and was able to recall the events that had happened. I had asked for a mirror.

When I had received the mirror I froze. "_This isn't me, it can't be,_" I had thought_._ The person staring back at me was broken and scarred. Her face was covered in ghastly bruises and cuts. My hair, which before had reached down to my waist, just barely touched my shoulders. Dazed, I had reached back to feel my hair, my eyes widening when I realized that it was shorter in the back than in the front.

I didn't know if it was from the physical pain or the emotional trauma, but it was just too much. I began to cry, and once the tears started, they wouldn't stop. It wasn't my hair that I was crying about; it was everything. It was the fact that I couldn't recognize my own face in the mirror. It was what Kanda had said. It was the knowledge that we failed because of me, because of my own weakness. That was the one and only time where I had let myself cry. After that I had made a silent promise to myself to seal away the pain.

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed that Dallas and Lavi had entered the room. They were chatting about something when Dallas said, "I wonder when Ashley will wake up..." It was this that brought me out of my thoughts, causing me to open my eyes.

"Well, speak of the Devil!" Lavi said, grinning.

"Ashley!" Dallas exclaimed, smiling.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"Not much, just came by to visit. Raikou's still on her mission so there's not much to do. I think she's supposed to get back tonight. How are you feeling?"

"Better, I guess."

"So tell me, what exactly happened?" Lavi asked.

I told Lavi about my battle with the level twos and the level three akuma and how the innocence was compromised as a result of my weakness. I left out the part where Kanda yelled at me. He didn't need to know that and I didn't feel like bringing it up.

"Geeze Ashley, we've gotta put some meat on these bones, ha-ha! But seriously, I'm glad you're okay. I could teach you a thing or two about fighting if you'd like. And just because you're injured doesn't mean you can't practice. You need to be able to fight and defend yourself even when you're not using your innocence," Lavi joked, after I had finished my story.

"But I thought the generals, our masters, are supposed to teach us that stuff?" In my case that would be Cross. I shuddered at the thought of having to train with that man.

"Baby, I'll be your master for now." Lavi winked mischievously.

"Haha, no." I said blushing.

"Awww, come on! I'll be a good boy, I promise." Lavi pleaded, flashing me one of his crooked smiles.

Dallas laughed, "Alright you two rascals...I'm gonna go get something to eat." She then walked out of the room.

"So will you?" Lavi persisted.

"Ugh, fine." I really didn't want to leave the infirmary, but it was going to happen eventually.

"Great, I have to do some work for Bookman today and it looks like you still need a few more days of rest before you'll be ready to do anything. I'll come back in a couple of days." Lavi smiled. God, his smile was dazzling.

"Okay, see you then," I said as he left the room, leaving me once again alone with my thoughts.

* * *

Three days went by before I was ready to practice with Lavi. They were three days of painful shots filled with some kind of healing steroid, courtesy of Komui, that was supposed to speed up the healing process. Knowing how his experiments usually go, I was a little weary to take them. But, by the time the three days had passed, and with a good amount of pain meds, I was able to get up and out of bed without any unexpected aftereffects.

Lavi came as he had promised and together we walked to one of the many training rooms. My right arm was in a sling, and I had no idea how Lavi expected me to practice like this.

"Lavi, I don't understand how this is going to work out." I said, as we walked into an empty room.

"What do you mean?"  
"I just don't understand how I'm going to be able to learn anything like this."

Lavi chuckled, "Don't worry, you'll figure it out. This'll be a great way for you to learn how to adapt quickly when fighting."

"Great…" I said, as I mentally groaned.

Lavi just laughed in response. "Okay, so here's what we're gonna do. I'm going to teach you some basic attacks and ways to defend yourself without using your innocence."

The next few hours were spent with Lavi demonstrating attacks and defensive maneuvers, and me following them the best I could in my current state. It was a little awkward, what with my broken arm and everything, but Lavi was very patient, and a really good teacher, despite his flirtatious impulses.

It was actually nice to be able to get out of the infirmary, and being with Lavi helped me forget about things. His always bright and happy-go-lucky mood was contagious. Being around him, I couldn't help but feel happier myself.

I was so focused on learning that I didn't realize that the whole time we were practicing Lavi was moving closer and closer to me. It wasn't until he was suddenly right behind me, helping me make a kick, that I became aware of this.

"Like this," he whispered in my ear, as I felt him place his hands on my hips in order to correct me.

I could feel his warm breath on my neck. And I had to say that the whole situation released butterflies in my stomach and sent my heart racing. He was just so close and so _tempting_.

"Lavi?" I whispered, turning my head towards his, only to have his lips meet mine, slowly filling me with warmth from the inside out, healing me, waking me. I hadn't felt this alive in a long time, and I wasn't ready to give that feeling up yet. In fact, I wanted more, so much more.

I turned around to face him kissing him back as his arms tightened around my waist. He was very gentle, so as not to hurt me, but at that moment I couldn't have cared less. The warmer I felt, the more I did not want to return to my frozen world.

I deepened the kiss, my good hand gripping his shirt in my attempt to pull him closer to me. I didn't know what had come over me. Instead of being shocked at Lavi and pushing him away, I didn't, I couldn't. Instead, I was finally giving in to him, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Lavi was hot, sweet, and a good guy. If he was interested, why shouldn't I be allowed to accept his invitation?

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Lavi pulled away, much to my disappointment. I frowned in protest, receiving a chuckle from him.

"We'll have to wait for you to heal up before we can do anything else." Lavi grinned, and I felt butterflies rise up in my stomach at the thought.

I smiled, "That's not fair, but fine."

"C'mon, let's get you back to the infirmary." Lavi said, taking my hand and leading me out the door.

When we reached the doors of the infirmary, I stopped.

"Lavi, thanks," I said, before quickly kissing him on the check, "for everything."

"No problem," he said with a smile as I reluctantly walked into the infirmary.


End file.
